Electrical computers and digital data processing systems: input/ – Input/output data processing – Input/output addressing
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-22
2001-04-03
Lee, Thomas C. (Department: 2782)
Electrical computers and digital data processing systems: input/
Input/output data processing
Input/output addressing
C710S012000, C710S016000, C709S241000, C713S100000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06212579
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of Invention
The invention relates to access to personal computers. More specifically, the invention relates to providing distributed access to a personal computer by mostly cordless I/O devices located throughout the home or office.
(2) Related Art
Existing personal computer systems typically adhere to a two-foot model in which a grab bag of parts such as a monitor, a keyboard, and a mouse are available only if the user is present at (e.g., within two feet of) the computer system. If an application needs to render a sound, it defaults to the system's speakers because the application assumes that the user can hear the sound from those speakers. If the application must perform speech recognition, it uses the default system microphone because the user being locally located can speak into the system microphone. In the typical system, direct input comes from a one and only keyboard. Display information is provided to the system monitor, which is typically the only monitor. In this two foot model, it is implicitly assumed that the user is a local user. Thus, the application always think they know where the user is. Unfortunately, there is no way, when this assumption fails, for the application to identify where input/output communications should be received or sent.
As cordless I/O devices become increasingly common, the above assumption becomes less and less reliable. It is certainly possible to envision the situation in which I/O devices communicating with a host PC are located throughout the home or office. In such circumstances, it would become essential for applications to be able to identify a particular I/O device as a source or destination for particularly input/output stream.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A method and system for associating and selecting a set of I/O components as a source or destination of I/O data directed to or from an application is disclosed. A set of I/O components are modeled as a component object model which becomes a generic access device (GAD) for those components. Relevant interfaces to the components are instantiated within the GAD. The GAD then hands out the interfaces to applications wishing to access the I/O devices modeled by the GAD. The application is thereby enabled to carry out meaningful communication with the I/O devices to which the GAD provided interfaces.
In one embodiment, the GAD provides a logical relationship between a plurality of I/O components such that the application may easily determine a correct output device based on a particular stimulus. Moreover, the GAD supports both high level actions on groups of components such as full duplex audio, as well as lower level action on individual components such as connecting a particular mic to a particular speaker.
In another embodiment, the interfaces are created independently of the application or applications that will use the interfaces. This results in a standard set of interfaces for I/O components generally. Moreover, because the interfaces are associated hierarchically within the GAD, the applications need not be able to build a high level interface to be able to access one.
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Waters, Bryan; Mastering OLE 2; Chapter 5, Istorages and Istreams, pp. 82-86.
Blakely , Sokoloff, Taylor & Zafman LLP
Elamin Abdelmoniem
Intel Corporation
Lee Thomas C.
LandOfFree
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