Apparatus and method for automatically providing information to a new computer

• US 8,523,073 B2
• Filed: 07/16/2012
• Issued: 09/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Tam, Wai Hong, Spalink, Tammo
• Primary Examiner(s): WALSH, DANIEL I
• Application Number:
  US13/550,497
• Publication Number:
  US 20130082098A1
• Time in Patent Office: 414 Days
• Field of Search: 235/462.11, 235/462.01, 235/435, 235/454, 235/462.15
• US Class Current: 235/462.11
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/23363 Barcode
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25092 Customized control features, configuration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44505 Configuring for program initiating, e.g. using registry, configuration files

Abstract

A system and method is disclosed for automatically providing information to a newly-manufactured computing device. During the manufacture of a new computing device at an assembly line, a camera integrated with the computing device is automatically activated as a barcode scanner. On the camera viewing a barcode that includes device-specific configuration information, the barcode is read by the computing device to read the device-specific configuration information for storage in a non-volatile memory of the device.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for automatically providing information to a plurality of new computing devices, comprising:

in an assembly line comprising a plurality of newly-manufactured computing devices, activating a computing device on the assembly line to electronically load and execute initiation instructions stored on the activated computing device, the initiation instructions automatically activating an integrated camera associated with the activated computing device on the assembly line as a barcode scanner; and

positioning a barcode to be viewable by the integrated camera, the barcode including device information related to the activated computing device on the assembly line,

wherein, upon the integrated camera viewing the barcode, the device information is read by the integrated camera and stored on a system memory of the activated computing device on the assembly line.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein, on the integrated camera reading the device information, the activated computing device connects to a configuration system to download configuration information about the activated computing device based on the device information.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the configuration information is stored on the system memory of the activated computing device.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, further comprising:

verifying that the configuration information is stored on the system memory.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the initiation instructions are stored as firmware on the activated computing device.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the initiation instructions are stored as part of a factory boot image on a memory medium associated with the activated computing device, and wherein activating the computing device on the assembly line comprises a power-up of the activated computer device.

7. A computer-implemented method for automatically providing information to a computing device, comprising:

automatically activating an integrated camera associated with the computing device as a barcode scanner;

waiting for a barcode to be viewed by the integrated camera;

upon the integrated camera viewing a barcode that includes device-specific configuration information, automatically reading the barcode to read the device-specific configuration information, and automatically storing the device-specific configuration information on a system memory of the computing device; and

wherein the activating and waiting steps are automatically performed in response to a power on of the computing device and in connection with a boot up of the computing device from a boot image stored on a memory medium of the computing device.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the device-specific configuration information includes a serial number, the method further comprising:

connecting to an configuration system via a network connection;

transmitting the serial number to the configuration system;

receiving secondary configuration information about the computing device from the configuration system; and

on receiving the secondary configuration information, automatically storing the secondary configuration information to the system memory.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein reading the barcode includes reading a matrix 2D barcode, and wherein the device-specific configuration information includes a serial number and secondary configuration information about the computing device.

10. The computing device of claim 7, wherein the memory medium is a firmware device on a system board of the computing device.

11. The computing device of claim 7, wherein the memory medium is a hard drive associated with the computing device.

12. A newly-manufactured computing device, comprising:

a processor;

an integrated camera;

a first memory containing configuration instructions configured to be automatically accessed on a power-on of the computing device,

wherein the configuration instructions are automatically executed by the processor on a power-on of the computer device and cause the processor to;

activate the integrated camera as a scanner;

read encoded information positioned in front of the integrated camera, the encoded information including device information related to the computing device;

initiate a transmission of the device information to a configuration system remote from the computing device;

receive configuration information about the computing device based on the transmitted device information; and

store the configuration information about the computing device to the computing device.

13. The newly-manufactured computing device of claim 12, wherein the configuration instructions are stored on the first memory as a factory test image.

14. The newly-manufactured computing device of claim 13, wherein the first memory is a hard drive.

15. The newly-manufactured computing device of claim 13, wherein the transmission is initiated over a network connection with a configuration server at an assembly line, the newly-manufactured computing device being one of multiple devices in the assembly line.

16. The computing device of claim 13, wherein the device information includes a serial number of the newly-manufactured computing device.

17. The computing device of claim 13, further comprising a system memory, the configuration information being stored on the system memory, wherein the configuration instructions are implemented as firmware stored on the first memory.

18. The computing device of claim 17, wherein the system memory is implemented as an EPROM.

19. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

in an assembly line comprising a plurality of computing devices, initiating a boot up of one or more of the computing devices on the assembly line to activate respective integrated cameras associated with the one or more computing devices;

providing at each of the one or more computing devices on the assembly line respective encoded information that, when viewed by an activated camera of a corresponding computing device, provides the corresponding computing device with device information about the corresponding computing device; and

upon a respective computing device on the assembly line receiving the device information, automatically transmitting the device information from the respective computing device on the assembly line to a configuration system, automatically downloading from the configuration system to the respective computing device configuration information based on the transmitted device information, and automatically storing the configuration information to a memory of the respective computing device on the assembly line.