Systems and methods for muting visual indicators in an information handling system

• US 9,401,078 B2
• Filed: 02/26/2014
• Issued: 07/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Barrett, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan, Hai
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bousono, Orlando
• Application Number:
  US14/190,767
• Publication Number:
  US 20150243140A1
• Time in Patent Office: 881 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/181 Enclosures for portable computers G06F1/1613
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/182 with special features, e.g. for use in industrial environments; grounding or shielding against radio frequency interference [RFI] or electromagnetical interference [EMI]
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 5/36 using visible light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 5/38 using flashing light

Abstract

A chassis may include a plurality of slots each configured to receive a module having one or more information handling resources, wherein each slot is configured to electrically and communicatively couple the module to other components of the chassis. The chassis may also include a controller communicatively coupled to the plurality of slots. The controller may be configured to receive an electrical signal indicative of a user action associated with the chassis. The controller may also be configured to, responsive to the electrical signal: cause a first visual indicator associated with a first module received in the chassis to indicate a selection; for a period of time following receipt of the electrical signal, cause at least one second visual indicator of modules received in the chassis to mute; and at the conclusion of the period of time, cause the at least one second visual indicator to unmute.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

in a chassis comprising a chassis interface and a plurality of slots, each of the plurality of slots configured to receive a drawer and electrically and communicatively couple the drawer to other components of the chassis;

receiving an electrical signal indicative of a user action associated with an element of the chassis interface; and

responsive to the electrical signal;

selecting, from a group of drawers received in a corresponding group of the plurality of slots, a particular drawer;

causing a particular visual indicator associated with the particular drawer to indicate the selecting of the particular drawer;

for a period of time following receipt of the electrical signal, muting a visual indicator of an unselected drawer of the group of drawers to mute; and

at the conclusion of the period of time, unmuting the visual indicator of the unselected drawer;

wherein the plurality of slots include a slot receiving a peripheral drawer and a plurality of slots receiving compute node drawers, including a particular slot receiving a particular compute node drawer, and wherein selecting the particular drawer comprises selecting the particular slot receiving the particular compute node drawer for coupling to the peripheral drawer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the chassis includes a plurality of visual indicator types and wherein the particular visual indicator comprises a first type of visual indicator and wherein during the period of time, the particular visual indicator is an only visual indicator of the first type not muted.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the particular drawer comprises selecting the particular drawer for coupling to a connector of the chassis.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the peripheral drawer includes a hard disk drive.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the element of the chassis interface comprises a node select button and wherein selecting the particular drawer comprises a user pressing the node select button until the particular visual indicator indicates selection of the particular drawer.

6. A chassis comprising:

a chassis interface;

a plurality of slots, each of the plurality of slots configured to receive a drawer having one or more information handling resources, wherein each of the plurality of slots is configured to electrically and communicatively couple a corresponding drawer to other components of the chassis; and

a controller communicatively coupled to the plurality of slots and configured to perform operations, comprising;

receiving an electrical signal indicative of a user action associated with an element of the chassis interface; and

responsive to the electrical signal;

selecting, from a group of drawers received in a corresponding group of the plurality of slots, a particular drawer;

causing a particular visual indicator associated with the particular drawer to indicate the selecting of the particular drawer;

for a period of time following receipt of the electrical signal, muting a visual indicator of an unselected drawer of the group of drawers; and

at the conclusion of the period of time, unmuting the visual indicator of the unselected drawer;

wherein the plurality of slots include a slot receiving a peripheral drawer and a plurality of slots receiving compute node drawers, including a particular slot receiving a particular compute node drawer, and wherein selecting the particular drawer comprises selecting the particular slot receiving the particular compute node drawer for coupling to the peripheral drawer.

7. The chassis of claim 6, wherein each of the compute node drawers includes at least one corresponding processor.

8. The chassis of claim 6, wherein the selecting includes:

a first selection, associated with first elements of the chassis interface and indicated by first visual indicators, of the particular compute node drawer, selected from the compute node drawers, as the particular drawer;

an

a second selection, associated with second elements of the chassis interface and indicated by second visual indicators, of a particular compute node selected from a plurality of compute nodes within the particular compute node drawer.

9. The chassis of claim 6, wherein selecting the particular drawer comprises selecting the particular drawer for coupling to a connector of the chassis.

10. The chassis of claim 9, wherein the connector of the chassis is configured to couple to a display device.