System for conveying an attribute of a device not explicitly recognized by a PS/2 communication protocol and without requiring modification of the protocol
US6772236B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 17, 2003 |
| Grant date | Aug 3, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 17, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F3/0383
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Reporting an attribute of a device via PS/2 protocols to a host executing an industry standard PS/2 port driver that does not include means to recognize the attribute. For example, a wireless mouse reports a battery state and a signal quality state through a standard PS/2 port driver that does not recognize any command or identifier for battery state or signal quality state. The attribute state is encoded in a standard PS/2 data packet. The standard PS/2 data packet is uniquely identified as an attribute packet by encoding data corresponding to highly unlikely mouse movement. A filter driver running on the host activates transmission of the attribute packets by commanding the port driver to issue a unique sequence of standard PS/2 commands, which the mouse system recognizes. The filter driver intercepts incoming PS/2 data packets, recognizes the unlikely data values that identify an attribute packet, and decodes the attribute state.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.