This invention pertains to computer systems and other information handling systems and, more particularly, to a computer system in which illumination is provided to particular connectors depending on the type of peripheral to be engaged.
Laptops have become increasingly preferred over desktop systems because they allow users to engage in computing while maintaining mobility. It is not uncommon for computer users to engage in computing activity during their commute; for example, on the subway, in the airport, on an airplane, or even in one's backyard.
With increased use of mobility and diverse work environments, use of a laptop in changing ambient lighting conditions can be a challenge. A user may experience a temporary change in ambient light while riding a subway that passes through a tunnel, or in an airplane when the cabin lights are dimmed, or even in a building that experiences a temporary blackout as in the case of a sudden storm. Users have found it challenging to plug-in cables during decreased ambient light conditions. The reduced light levels make it difficult to see the rear side of the computer system where the connectors are located. Not only do users find it difficult to properly orient the cable's mating connector so that it will effortlessly slide into the connector on the system, users also find it difficult to identify which of the many system connectors is the appropriate connector.
These problems and challenges, however, are not limited to laptops. Users of desktop systems encounter similar challenges when the desktop computer system is located under a desk where dim lighting is usually encountered. Typically, a desktop computer system has a plethora of cables already attached and in many cases the system cannot be pulled out into the center of the room where lighting is more favorable. As a result, users may have to crawl under a desk and reach around in an attempt to identify the proper connector and orientation for the connector plug. Many times, if a user is not familiar with computer equipment, the user may have only a vague idea as to which plug mates with which connector. However, even an experienced user may have a difficult time identifying a connector and the proper orientation for the plug. For example, in dim lighting, even an experienced user may find it difficult to distinguish between a LAN connector and a modem connector.
What is needed, therefore, is an apparatus and method which provides on-demand lighting. Furthermore, what is needed is an apparatus and method which provides distinguishing lighting in response to a users attempt to plug-in cables (power, USB, other peripherals).
As will be seen, the embodiments disclosed satisfy the foregoing needs and accomplish additional objectives.
It has been discovered that the aforementioned challenges are addressed using a system, program product, and method which includes or utilizes a plurality of light sources each situated in correspondence to a corresponding one of a plurality of connectors. System peripherals are provided which are intended to couple to the plurality of connectors. These provided peripherals are equipped to include a transponder having an identifiable ID tag. The system further includes an wireless ID controller which detects an ID tag emitted by a proximate transponder as in for example when a user proceeds to plug-in a system peripheral outfitted with such transponder. The system further includes a light controller which selectively energizes the plurality of light sources and provides a distinguishing energization signal to at least one but less than all of the light sources based on the ID tag value.
In one embodiment, the distinguishing energization signal is effective to energize at least one light source while a remainder of light sources are turned off. In other embodiments, a remainder of light sources which are other than the at least one light source are energized and the distinguishing energization signal provided to the at least one source is a flashing signal or a signal which causes light emission of a distinguishing color from the remainder of light sources.
In one embodiment, a processor is coupled to an RF ID controller and to an LED controller and receives a detected RF ID tag from the RF ID controller and passes control commands to the LED controller for selecting which LEDs to energize. The processor makes the selection by accessing a set of relational data tables which correlates RF ID tag values to specific ones of a plurality of LEDs. Selection of LEDs is carried out as a function of the relational data and the value of the received RF ID tag, wherein at least one but less than all of the plurality of LEDs are selected for energization.
Some of the purposes of the invention having been stated, others will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
While the present invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown, it is to be understood at the outset of the description which follows that persons of skill in the appropriate arts may modify the invention here described while still achieving the favorable results of this invention. Accordingly, the description which follows is to be understood as being a broad, teaching disclosure directed to persons of skill in the appropriate arts, and not as limiting upon the present invention.
Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.
Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals indicate like elements or steps throughout the several views,
As shown in
PCI local bus 50 supports the attachment of a number of devices, including adapters and bridges. Among these devices is network adapter 66, which interfaces computer system 12 to LAN 10, and graphics adapter 68, which interfaces computer system 12 to display 69. Communication on PCI local bus 50 is governed by local PCI controller 52, which is in turn coupled to non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) 56 via memory bus 54. Local PCI controller 52 can be coupled to additional buses and devices via a second host bridge 60.
Computer system 12 further includes Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus 62, which is coupled to PCI local bus 50 by ISA bridge 64. Coupled to ISA bus 62 is an input/output (I/O) controller 70, which controls communication between computer system 12 and attached peripheral devices such as a keyboard, mouse, and a disk drive. In addition, I/O controller 70 supports external communication by computer system 12 via serial and parallel ports. A lighting controller 25 couples to the system via I/O controller 70 and controls the electrical power delivered to an array of LEDs located along the back panel of computer system 12 under the control of system processor 42. An RFID controller 21 couples to the system through I/O controller 70 and is capable of energizing and reading industry standard RFID transponders and includes a storage suitable for storing a list of any RFID tags found within its vicinity. The RF ID tags (unique identifiers) are stored within the memory of any number of transponders 29 which according to embodiments of the present invention are embedded in cables and peripherals such as USB cables and mice.
Two fundamental types of RFID technology exist: passive and active. Passive transponders are energized by the RF field provided by the reader (controller 21) and require no other source of power (batteries, etc). These passive transponders “wake up” when they are in-field and respond with a unique tag or identifier. Active transponders, on the other hand, are independently powered (usually battery) and continuously broadcast their identifier (ID). Closely associated with the class of the transponder (passive or active) is the carrier frequency. Tradeoffs exist between range, power, etc when considering active vs. passive implementations. Traditionally, passive transponders are relatively lower frequency (125 kHz, 13 Mhz, 900 Mhz ranges) with subsequent shorter range (for both transmission and power utilization considerations) while active transponders are typically in the 2.45 GHz range. Passive technology usually equates to lower-cost and is prevalent in the scannable asset tagging domain (library books, packaging, etc). Active technology can have significant range and is used for transport ID (freight trains, auto toll collection, pallet level distribution, etc).
In either case, the transponder is used to establish a communication channel with the RF reader, such as RFID controller 21. The RF reader is always the ‘active transmitter’ and serves as the master in the communication sequences. Those skilled in the art are familiar with how to arbitrate and differentiate multiple transponders in-field at a given time and how to establish singular sequential secure communication channels with each. Once a given transponder is ‘selected’ the reader can then communicate via reads or writes with the transponder. Information is aliased onto the base carrier typically using AM schemes. In its simplest implementations RFID may be read only where the transponder simply broadcasts its ID (analogous to a barcode).
Embodiments of the present invention can encompass any of the above RFID implementations. However, in the embodiment shown in
The ISO 14443 RFID specification is available in four parts from the International Standards Organization web site which at the time of this writing was located at www.iso.org. The four parts are entitled:
According to the preferred embodiment, while it is only exemplary of this invention, system processor 42 maintains the tables 400 and 500 shown in
While it is only exemplary of this invention, the preferred embodiment energizes a single LED which is closest to the connector which is of the same type indicated by the unique ID and is available or otherwise unused in the system. This is considered the best mode because it conserves power in a battery-powered system. However, other embodiments are envisioned whose scope are covered by the appended claims. For example, in other applications where power savings are not required and where a user can benefit from a general illumination to the entire area behind computer system 12, it may be desirable to energize all of the LEDs 310-317 while providing a distinguishing energization signal to at least one but less than all of LEDs 310-317. E.g., when a USB mouse is brought in proximity to system 12, LED 313 can glow in red while the remainder of the LEDs glow in green. Alternatively, rather than having a distinguishing color, LED 313 can be made to flash, blink, or constantly glow brighter than the other LEDs to give its distinguishing characteristic.
Embodiments of the present invention include various functions, which have been described above. The functions may be performed by hardware components or may be embodied in machine-executable instructions, which may be used to cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processor programmed with the instructions to perform the functions. Alternatively, the functions may be performed by a combination of hardware and software. Although in the preferred embodiment system processor 42 maintains and utilizes tables 400 and 500 and executes the logic shown in
An Embodiment of the present invention may be provided as a computer program product which may include a machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which may be used to program a computer (or other electronic devices) to perform a process according to the any of the embodiments of the present invention. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, floppy diskettes, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and magneto-optical disks, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnet or optical cards, or other type of media \ machine-readable medium suitable for storing electronic instructions. Moreover, an embodiment of the present invention may also be downloaded as a computer program product, wherein the program may be transferred from a remote computer to a requesting computer by way of data signals embodied in a carrier wave or other propagation medium via a communication link (e.g., a modem or network connection).
In the drawings and specifications there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention and, although specific terms are used, the description thus given uses terminology in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.