System and method for initiating a multi-environment operating system

• US 9,372,711 B2
• Filed: 07/19/2010
• Issued: 06/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Galicia, Joshua D., Carlyle, Jeffrey C., Tzakis, Andrew N.
• Primary Examiner(s): CONNOLLY, MARK A
• Application Number:
  US12/838,668
• Publication Number:
  US 20110016301A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,164 Days
• Field of Search: 713/1, 713/2, 713/100, 713/300, 713/320, 718/1, 718/100
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45537 Provision of facilities of other operating environments, e.g. WINE I/O emulation G06F13/105
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/461 Saving or restoring of program or task context

Abstract

Various embodiments of the present invention provide a mobile computing device that operates multiple, co-existing and independent operating system environments on a common kernel. A booting process for initiating a multiple operating system environment is also provided. Additionally, various embodiments of the present invention include processes for managing a switch between one operating system environment to a second operating system environment.

Claims

1. A method for booting a device having at least two co-existing independent operating system environments comprising the following steps:

initiating a start-up boot sequence;

initializing a core kernel;

identifying a device mode state;

launching services common to a first operating system environment and a second operating system environment, wherein the first and second operating system environments do not exist in a virtualization or emulation scheme but rather operate on the core kernel;

selecting a primary operating system environment from among the first and second operating system environments based at least in part upon the mode state;

launching initializing scripts of the primary operating system environment; and

launching initializing scripts of a secondary operating system environment.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the device boots both operating system environments in a start-up boot sequence, the second operating system environment being the primary operating system environment when the mode state is personal computing.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the device boots the at least two operating system environments in a start-up sequence, the first operating system environment booting first when the mode state is identified as a mobile mode.

4. A method for initializing an operating system, comprising the following steps:

initializing a boot sequence;

selecting at least two operating system environments for operating a mobile device, wherein the at least two operating system environments are configured to be independent and co-exist while the device is operational;

launching a common kernel, wherein the at least two operating system environments do not exist in a virtualization or emulation scheme but rather operate on the common kernel;

launching application services common to a first operating system environment and a second operating system environment of the at least two operating system environments;

selecting a primary and a secondary operating system environment based at least in part upon a mode state of the device; and

simultaneously launching initializing scripts for the primary and secondary operating system environments.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the first operating system environment is the primary environment.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the second operating system environment is the primary environment.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the mode state is a mobile mode.

8. The method according to claim 4, further comprising the step of initiating a secondary operating system application.

9. The method according to claim 4, wherein the secondary environment is a mobile environment.

10. A method of operating a device having at least two operating system environments, the method comprising:

operating the at least two operating system environments on a common kernel;

wherein the operating system environments do not exist in a virtualization or emulation scheme.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the at least two operating system environments include a first operating system environment and a second operating system environment.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

launching services common to the first operating system environment and the second operating system environment.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein one of the first and second operating system environments is a primary operating system environment and another of the first and second operating system environments is a secondary operating system environment.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein whether the first operating system environment or the second operating system environment is the primary operating system environment depends at least in part upon a mode state of the device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein if the mode state of the device is a docked mode, then the primary operating system environment is the second operating system environment, and wherein if the mode state of the device is a mobile mode, then the primary operating system environment is the first operating system environment.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein primary environment-specific services are launched before secondary environment-specific services.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the launching of the services common to the first and second operating system environments occurs in a manner that is separate from a launching of at least some of the primary and secondary environment-specific services.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein when the device is in the docked mode and a peripheral device is unplugged, there is an automatic switch to the mobile mode such that the primary operating system environment becomes the secondary operating system environment and vice-versa.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the device is a mobile device.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein the at least two operating system environments are co-existing and independent.