Electrical computers and digital data processing systems: input/ – Input/output data processing – Input/output data buffering
Reexamination Certificate
1998-10-29
2001-07-17
Lee, Thomas (Department: 2182)
Electrical computers and digital data processing systems: input/
Input/output data processing
Input/output data buffering
C710S001000, C710S052000, C709S241000, C709S241000, C709S241000, C375S222000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06263384
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a virtual transmission system enabling changing the use of an application software, such as for personal computer transmission, personal fax transmission, and other types of transmission, in a user mode, without actually changing the application software itself. The user mode is a non-exclusive mode wherein access to system data and interfaces that can be used are limited.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a variety of different types of application software are available for enabling personal computers to transmit data to and receive data from peripheral or remote devices. For example, application software is available for enabling personal computers to perform data transmission and reception with a peripheral printer over a cable or with a remote facsimile machine over a telephone line. Transmission application software is generally configured to perform reception and transmission of data over a serial port connected to a modem.
There is a demand to change the use of transmission application software. For example, it would be desirable if transmission application software for performing transmission and reception of data through a serial port could be used to perform transmission and reception of data through a parallel port, instead of a serial port. Also, it would be desirable if transmission application software could be used to check, using the personal computer, transmitted and received data.
However, in order to fill change use of the transmission application software, the transmission application software itself must be rewritten or the kernel mode program must be greatly changed. It is difficult to rewrite transmission application software. Further, the kernel mode program is an exclusive processor mode, which is capable of accessing the system data and hardware, and so is also very difficult to rewrite.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an objective of the present invention to realize, within a single computer, a virtual transmission system that uses a serial port as a transmission port and to realize the virtual transmission system by only slightly modifying changeable portions of the kernel mode and without changing the application program itself. It is a further objective of the present invention that the virtual transmission system be capable of checking operation of application software designed to use a serial port as its transmission port, of processing data received by and transmitted from the application software, and of reception by and transmission from the application software of data over a parallel port.
A virtual transmission system according to the present invention comprises a first and second virtual serial ports; a first transmission/reception buffer region set with the first virtual serial port as a write port and the second virtual serial port as a read out port; a second transmission/reception buffer region set with the first virtual serial port as a read out port and the second virtual serial port as a write port; and a control portion for writing data outputted from the first virtual serial port into the first transmission/reception buffer region, for outputting data written in the first transmission/reception buffer region to the second virtual serial port, for writing data outputted from the second virtual serial port into the second transmission/reception buffer region, and for outputting data written in the second virtual serial port to the first transmission/reception buffer region.
The first and second virtual serial ports can be added and memory for the first and second transmission/reception buffer regions can be secured by, for example, rewriting content of a serial driver in the kernel mode. For example, the serial.sys program in the device driver of “Windows NT™” which is a product available from Microsoft Corporation, serves as the serial driver, so that in a computer using “Windows NT™”, the serial.sys program in the device driver should be rewritten to add the first and second virtual serial ports and to secure memory for the first and second transmission/reception buffers regions.
According to this aspect of the present invention, the virtual transmission system further includes a memory storing: a transmission application software for performing transmission and reception using a serial port and set with one of the first and second virtual serial ports as the serial port, and another transmission application software for performing transmission and reception of data with the transmission application software and set to output data to and input data from another of the first and second virtual serial ports.
With this configuration, operations of a transmission application software that is still being developed can be checked in a single computer. In this case, the transmission application software is installed in the computer and the first virtual serial port is set as its transmission port. As a result, the transmission application software will transmit data to and receive data from the first virtual serial port. Also, a check application software for checking operation of the transmission application software is installed in the computer and set with the second virtual serial port as its transmission port. As a result, the check application software will transmit data to and receive data from the second virtual serial port.
Data generated by operation of the transmission application software will be written in the first transmission/reception buffer region. The check application software will retrieve the data from the first transmission/reception buffer region through the second virtual serial port and output response signals, such as commands and data, to the second virtual serial port in response to the retrieved data. It should be noted that when an application software is described in the specification as retrieving or outputting data, this means that operation of the CPU based on the application software causes data to be retrieved or outputted. Similarly, when data is described in the specification as being passed to or outputted to an application software, this means that data is made available for processing according to the application software. The response signals are then written in the second transmission/reception buffer region and sent to the transmission application software through the first virtual serial port, whereupon the transmission application software receives the response signals. Accordingly, the operation of the transmission application software can be easily checked using a single computer by performing virtual transmission and reception between the transmission application software and the check application software and determining whether all data was correctly transmitted and received from start to finish of a transmission series.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an actual port is provided for connecting with an external device, wherein the another transmission application software is for processing data from the transmission application software and, based on the processed data, performing transmission and reception with the external device through the actual port.
With this configuration, a commercially available transmission application designed for performing transmission over a serial port can be used to perform transmission with an external device connected to a parallel port. An example will be provided for the case when a multifunction device is connected to the parallel port. A multifunction device includes a facsimile modem, an image retrieval unit, and a printing unit, and can function as a scanner, a facsimile machine, a copy machine, and a printer. When a multifunction device is connected to the parallel port, a data processing application software is provided to process data going to and coming from the commercially available transmission application as needed to enable transmission with the multifunction device. For example, facsimile data outputted from the comme
Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
Lee Thomas
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
Peyton Tammara
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