Plug-and-play device and method for enhancing features and settings in an interactive display system

• US 8,190,785 B2
• Filed: 05/26/2006
• Issued: 05/29/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Smart Technologies ULC (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Smart Technologies ULC (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Hill, Doug, Wilde, Keith
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Chun-Kuan
• Assistant Examiner(s): ABAD, FARLEY J
• Application Number:
  US11/420,600
• Publication Number:
  US 20080005371A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,195 Days
• Field of Search: 710/8, 710/104, 713/1, 713/2, 713/100
• US Class Current: 710/8
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4411 Configuring for operating with peripheral devices; Loading of device drivers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4413 Plug-and-play [PnP]

Abstract

A plug-and-play device providing a set of functionality comprises a plug-and-play interface, storage, and software stored in the storage. The software is automatically executed by a computer when the plug-and-play device is connected thereto via the plug-and-play interface. The software detects disconnection of the plug-and-play device from the computer and terminates execution in response thereto. The computer does not persistently store the software thereafter.

Claims

1. An interactive input system comprising:

an interactive surface having a controller; and

a plug-and-play cable connecting a computing device to the controller and establishing a bi-directional communication channel therebetween, wherein upon request of said computing device, said controller sending a plurality of human interface device profiles to said computing device via said plug-and-play cable, and upon receiving said plurality of human interface device profiles, said computing device loading a first human interface device profile, said plug-and-play cable comprising;

storage;

executable software stored on said storage, said software being automatically executed by the computing device when said plug-and-play cable is connected to the computing device, and when executed, said software instructing said computing device to send a command to said controller instructing said controller to switch from the first human interface device profile to a second human interface device profile; and

settings stored on said storage, said settings being transferred to the computing device via said plug-and-play cable and being used by the computing device to calibrate automatically the computing device and the interactive surface, wherein said software enables said computing device and controller to communicate over said bi-directional communication channel and is operable to detect disconnection of said plug-and-play cable from said computing device and terminate execution in response thereto, said computing device not persistently storing said software and settings thereafter.

2. The interactive system of claim 1, wherein said plug-and-play cable comprises a universal serial bus interface.

3. The interactive system of claim 2, wherein said storage stores an autorun file that specifies said software for automatic execution.

4. The interactive system of claim 3, wherein said plug-and-play cable comprises a compact disk human interface device (CD HID) profile.

5. The interactive system of claim 2, wherein said software is copied to a temporary location on said computing device and executed therefrom, and wherein execution of said software is terminated and deleted from said temporary location upon disconnection of the plug-and-play cable from the computing device.

6. The interactive system of claim 2, wherein said software registers a request with the operating system of said computing device to delete said software at a later time.

7. The interactive system of claim 1, wherein said software is copied to a temporary location on said computing device and executed therefrom, and wherein execution of said software is terminated and deleted from said temporary location upon disconnection of the plug-and-play cable from the computing device.

8. The interactive system of claim 7, wherein said software executes an instance of said software stored in said storage of said plug-and-play cable, terminates its own execution and the instance of said software executing from said storage of said plug-and-play cable and deletes said software from said temporary location on said computing device.

9. The interactive system of claim 1, wherein said software registers a request with the operating system of said computing device to delete said software at a later time.

10. The interactive input system of claim 1, wherein said settings further comprise pen tray settings.

11. A method of interacting with an interactive surface comprising:

connecting a plug-and-play cable between a computing device and a controller associated with the interactive surface;

establishing a bi-directional communication channel between said computing device and said controller via the plug-and-play cable;

in response to a request received by said controller from said computing device, sending a plurality of human interface device profiles from said controller to said computing device;

upon receiving said plurality of human interface device profiles, loading a first human interface device profile on said computing device;

automatically locating executable software stored on memory of said plug-and-play cable specified for execution and executing said located software on said computing device to cause said computing device to send a command to said controller instructing said controller to switch from the first human interface device profile to a second human interface device profile;

automatically locating settings for said interactive surface and transferring the settings to said computing device;

automatically calibrating said computing device and said interactive surface using said settings; and

terminating execution of said software upon disconnection of said plug-and-play cable from said computing device, said computing device not persistently storing said software and settings thereafter.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said executing comprises copying said software to storage on said computing device.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising registering a request with the operating system of said computing device to delete said software at a later time.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein said settings further comprise pen tray settings.

15. A plug-and-play cable for interconnecting an interactive surface and a computing device and establishing a bi-directional communication channel therebetween, said plug-and-play cable comprising:

storage; and

a hub communicating with said storage, said hub providing executable software stored in said storage to said computing device for automatic execution upon connection of said plug-and-play cable to said computing device to enable the computing device and a controller of said interactive surface to communicate over said bi-directional communication channel and to cause the computing device to send a command to said controller instructing said controller to switch from a first human interface device profile to a second human interface device profile, said plug-and-play cable further communicating calibration settings to the computing device when the plug-and-play cable interconnects the interactive surface and computing device, wherein said settings are configured for use by the computing device to calibrate automatically said computing device and said interactive surface.

16. The plug-and-play cable of claim 15, wherein said software references said calibration settings during execution.

17. The plug-and-play cable of claim 16, wherein said software automatically detects disconnection of said plug-and-play cable from said computing device and terminates execution in response thereto, said computing device not persistently storing said software and settings thereafter.

18. The plug-and-play cable of claim 15, wherein the interactive surface comprises a touch panel on which images are projected, said calibration settings mapping touch panel and displayed image coordinate systems.

19. The plug-and-play cable of claim 15, wherein said software is copied to a temporary location on said computing device and executed therefrom, and wherein execution of said software is terminated and deleted from said temporary location upon disconnection of the plug-and-play cable from the computing device.

20. The plug-and-play cable of claim 15, wherein said software registers a request with the operating system of said computing device to delete said software at a later time.

21. The plug-and-play cable of claim 15, wherein said plug-and-play cable further communicates pen tray settings to said computing device.

22. An interactive system comprising:

a controller;

a plug-and-play cable comprising storage, said plug-and-play cable connecting the controller to a computing device and establishing a bi-directional communication channel therebetween, said storage storing executable program code that is transferred to said computing device upon connection of said plug-and-play cable to said computing device, upon execution of said program code, said computing device sending a command to said controller instructing said controller to switch from a first human interface device profile to a second human interface device profile;

an interactive display on which a computer-generated image from said computing device is displayed; and

calibration settings stored on said storage, said calibration settings being transferred to said computing device upon execution of software stored in said storage and being used by said computing device to automatically map a display of said computing device to said interactive display upon connection of said plug-and-play cable to the controller and computing device.

23. The interactive system of claim 22, wherein said computer-generated image comprises a graphical user interface.

24. The interactive system of claim 22, wherein said plug-and-play cable comprises a universal serial bus interface.

25. The interactive system of claim 22, further comprising calibration software stored on said storage for execution by the computing device to set said calibration settings.

26. The interactive system of claim 25, wherein said software is copied to a temporary location on said computing device and executed therefrom, and wherein execution of said software is terminated and deleted from said temporary location upon disconnection of the plug-and-play cable from the computing device.

27. The interactive system of claim 25, wherein said software registers a request with the operating system of said computing device to delete said software at a later time.

28. The interactive input system of claim 22, further comprising pen tray settings stored on said storage.

29. A method of mapping a display of a computing device to an interactive screen comprising:

connecting a plug-and-play cable comprising storage between the computing device and a controller associated with the interactive screen;

establishing a bi-directional communication channel between the computing device and the controller over the plug-and-play cable;

in response to a request received by the controller from the computing device, sending a plurality of human interface device profiles from the controller to the computing device;

loading a first of the received human interface device profiles on said computing device;

executing by the computing device software stored on the storage of said plug-and-play cable causing said computing device to instruct said controller to switch from the first human interface device profile to a second human interface device profile;

retrieving calibration settings upon connection of the plug-and-play cable, said calibration settings being associated with functionality provided by the interactive screen; and

automatically mapping the display of the computing device to the interactive screen using said calibration settings.

30. The method of claim 29 further comprising terminating execution of said software upon disconnection of said plug-and-play cable from said computing device, said computing device not persistently storing said software and settings thereafter.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein said executing comprises copying said software to storage on said computing device.

32. The method of claim 29, further comprising registering a request with the operating system of said computing device to delete said software at a later time.

33. The method of claim 29, further comprising retrieving pen tray settings upon connection of said plug-and-play cable.

34. A plug-and-play cable for connection between a computing device and a controller associated with an interactive system comprising:

storage;

software stored on said storage, said software being copied to said computing device and executed therefrom automatically when said plug-and-play cable is connected to said computing device to enable the computing device and controller to communicate; and

a two-way communication channel through said plug-and-play cable over which the computing device and interactive system communicate, settings for the interactive system being copied to said computing device over said communication channel, said settings being configured for use by said computing device to calibrate automatically a display of said computing device and a display of said interactive system upon connection of the plug-and-play cable between the computing device and the interactive system, wherein the software, when executed, causes said computing device to instruct said controller to switch from a first human interface device profile to a second human interface device profile.

35. The plug-and-play cable of claim 34, wherein said settings on said storage further comprise pen tray settings.

36. An interactive input system comprising:

an interactive surface having a controller; and

a plug-and-play cable connecting a computing device to the controller and establishing a bi-directional communication channel therebetween, said plug-and-play cable comprising;

storage;

executable software stored on said storage, said software being automatically executed by the computing device when said plug-and-play cable is connected to the computing device; and

settings stored on said storage, said settings being transferred to the computing device via said plug-and-play cable, said settings comprising calibration settings used by the computing device to calibrate automatically the computing device and the interactive surface and pen tray settings, wherein said software enables said computing device and controller to communicate over said bi-directional communication channel and is operable to detect disconnection of said plug-and-play cable from said computing device and terminate execution in response thereto, said computing device not persistently storing said software and settings thereafter.

37. The interactive system of claim 36, wherein said plug-and-play cable comprises a universal serial bus interface.

38. The interactive system of claim 37, wherein said storage stores an autorun file that specifies said software for automatic execution.

39. The interactive system of claim 36, wherein said plug-and-play cable comprises a compact disk human interface device (CD HID) profile.

40. The interactive system of claim 36, wherein said software is copied to a temporary location on said computing device and executed therefrom, and wherein execution of said software is terminated and deleted from said temporary location upon disconnection of the plug-and-play cable from the computing device.

41. The interactive system of claim 36, wherein said software registers a request with the operating system of said computing device to delete said software at a later time.

42. The interactive input system of claim 36, wherein upon request of said computing device, said controller sends a plurality of human interface device profiles to said computing device via said plug-and-play cable, and upon receiving said plurality of human interface device profiles, said computing device loads a first human interface device profile.

43. The interactive input system of claim 42, wherein when said software is executed, said software instructs said computing device to send a command to said controller instructing said controller to switch from the first human interface device profile to a second human interface device profile.

44. A method of interacting with an interactive surface comprising:

connecting a plug-and-play cable between a computing device and a controller associated with said interactive surface;

establishing a bi-directional communication channel between said computing device and said controller via the plug-and-play cable;

automatically locating executable software stored on memory of said plug-and-play cable specified for execution and executing said located software on said computing device to enable said computing device and controller to communicate over said bi-directional communication channel;

automatically locating calibration settings and pen tray settings for said interactive surface and transferring the settings to said computing device;

automatically calibrating said computing device and said interactive surface using said calibration settings; and

terminating execution of said software upon disconnection of said plug-and-play cable from said computing device, said computing device not persistently storing said software and settings thereafter.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein said executing comprises copying said software to storage on said computing device.

46. The method of claim 44 further comprising:

sending a plurality of human interface device profiles from said controller to said computing device; and

upon receiving said plurality of human device interface device profiles, loading a first human device interface device profile on said computing device.

47. The method of claim 46 wherein during execution of said software, said computing device instructs said controller to switch from the first human interface device profile to a second human interface device profile.

48. A plug-and-play cable for interconnecting a controller associated with an interactive surface and a computing device and establishing a bi-directional communication channel therebetween, said plug-and-play cable comprising:

storage; and

a hub communicating with said storage, said hub providing executable software stored in said storage to said computing device for automatic execution upon connection of said plug-and-play cable to said computing device to enable the computing device and controller to communicate over said bi-directional communication channel, said plug-and-play cable further communicating calibration settings and pen tray settings to the computing device when the plug-and-play cable interconnects the controller and computing device, wherein said calibration settings are configured for use by the computing device to calibrate automatically said computing device and said interactive surface.

49. The plug-and-play cable of claim 48, wherein said software references said calibration settings during execution.

50. The plug-and-play cable of claim 49, wherein said software-automatically detects disconnection of said plug-and-play cable from said computing device and terminates execution in response thereto, said computing device not persistently storing said software and settings thereafter.

51. The plug-and-play cable of claim 50, wherein the interactive surface comprises a touch panel on which images are projected, said calibration settings mapping touch panel and displayed image coordinate systems.

52. The plug-and-play cable of claim 51, wherein said software is copied to a temporary location on said computing device and executed therefrom, and wherein execution of said software is terminated and deleted from said temporary location upon disconnection of the plug-and-play cable from the computing device.

53. The plug-and-play cable of claim 48 wherein upon request of said computing device, said controller sends a plurality of human interface device profiles to said computing device, and upon receiving said plurality of human device profiles, said computing device loads a first human device profile.

54. The plug-and-play cable of claim 53 wherein when said software is executed, said computing device sends a command to said controller instructing said controller to switch from the first human interface device profile to a second human interface device profile.

55. An interactive system comprising:

a controller;

a plug-and-play cable comprising storage, said plug-and-play cable connecting the controller to a computing device and establishing a bi-directional communication channel therebetween;

an interactive display on which a computer-generated image from said computing device is displayed; and

calibration settings and pen tray settings stored on said storage, said calibration settings and pen tray settings being transferred to said computing device upon execution of software stored in said storage, said calibration settings being used by said computing device to automatically map a display of said computing device to said interactive display upon connection of said plug-and-play cable to the controller and computing device.

56. The interactive system of claim 55, wherein said computer-generated image comprises a graphical user interface.

57. The interactive system of claim 55, wherein said plug-and-play cable comprises a universal serial bus interface.

58. The interactive system of claim 55, further comprising calibration software stored on said storage for execution by the computing device to set said calibration settings.

59. The interactive system of claim 58, wherein said software is copied to a temporary location on said computing device and executed therefrom, and wherein execution of said software is terminated and deleted from said temporary location upon disconnection of the plug-and-play cable from the computing device.

60. The interactive system of claim 55 wherein upon request of said computing device, said controller sends a plurality of human interface device profiles to said computing device, and upon receiving said plurality of human interface device profiles, said computing device loads a first human interface device profile.

61. The interactive system of claim 60 wherein upon execution of said software, instructions are transferred to said computing device to send a command to said controller to switch from the first human interface device profile to a second human interface device profile.

62. A method of mapping a display of a computing device to an interactive screen comprising:

connecting a plug-and-play cable comprising storage between the computing device and a controller associated with the interactive screen;

establishing a bi-directional communication channel between the computing device and the controller over the plug-and-play cable;

executing by the computing device software stored on the storage of said plug-and-play cable to enable the computing device and interactive screen to communicate over the bi-directional communication channel;

retrieving calibration settings and pen tray settings upon connection of the plug-and-play cable, said calibration settings being associated with functionality provided by the interactive screen; and

automatically mapping the display of the computing device to the interactive screen using said calibration settings.

63. The method of claim 62 further comprising terminating execution of said software upon disconnection of said plug-and-play cable from said computing device, said computing device not persistently storing said software and settings thereafter.

64. The method of claim 62 further comprising:

sending a plurality of human interface device profiles from said controller to said computing device; and

upon receiving said plurality of human device interface device profiles, loading a first human device interface device profile on said computing device.

65. The method of claim 64 wherein execution of said software by the computing device causes said computing device to instruct said controller to switch from the first human interface device profile to a second human interface device profile.

66. A plug-and-play cable for connection between a computing device and a controller associated with an interactive system comprising:

storage;

software stored on said storage, said software being copied to said computing device and executed therefrom automatically when said plug-and-play cable is connected to said computing device to enable the computing device and controller to communicate; and

a two-way communication channel through said plug-and-play cable over which the computing device and interactive system communicate, calibration settings and pen tray settings for the interactive system being copied to said computing device over said communication channel, said calibration settings being configured for use by said computing device to calibrate automatically a display of said computing device and a display of said interactive system upon connection of the plug-and-play cable between the computing device and the interactive system.

67. The plug-and-play cable of claim 66 wherein upon request of said computing device, said controller sends a plurality of human interface device profiles to said computing device, and upon receiving said plurality of human device profiles, said computing device loads a first human interface device profile, and when executed, said software instructs said computing device to send a command to said controller instructing said controller to switch from the first human interface device profile to a second human interface device profile.