Patent · US Active

Method and apparatus for associating device drivers via a device tree

US8196153B1 · kind B1 · utility

6Cited by
9References
20Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJan 7, 2007
Grant dateJun 5, 2012
Priority date
Expiry dateDec 23, 2029

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F9/4411
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Techniques for associating device drivers via a device tree are described herein. In one embodiment, a device tree having a hierarchical structure is maintained by a kernel of an operating system. The device tree includes device nodes corresponding to devices installed in a computer, including a first node and a second node. An auxiliary driver identifier is encoded within the first node for identifying a second device driver associated with the second node. The auxiliary driver identifier is used by a first device driver associated with the first node to invoke the second device driver to perform a predetermined operation on a device associated with the first node. Other methods and apparatuses are also described.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.