Device Driver Communication Patents (Class 719/321)
  • Publication number: 20140325533
    Abstract: A system for importing, from a host computer, a device driver into a guest computing environment provided by an external media device which does not include the device driver, includes a first computing environment, a second computing environment, a device discovery agent, a device driver discovery agent, and a device driver installation agent. A device driver associated with a device available to a first computing environment is installed on a computing device. The second computing environment is executed by a virtual machine on the computing device, based upon data retrieved from an external media device. The device discovery agent identifies a device available to the second computing environment. The device driver discovery agent determines that the installed device driver is associated with the device available to the second computing environment. The device driver installation agent imports the installed device driver into the second computing environment without user input.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 11, 2014
    Publication date: October 30, 2014
    Inventors: Zhixue Wu, Robertus Johannes van der Linden, David John Otway
  • Publication number: 20140325532
    Abstract: A microminiature personal computer that is connected to external devices using standard interfaces for information input and output. The microminiature personal computer has an interconnected processor, a memory, a security module, a network module, and a connector. At least part of memory should be non-volatile to keep operating system, drivers to work with external devices, programs and data. The microminiature personal computer does all its processing and all its programs are running inside its memory while external computing device is used only for information input and output through a virtual window thus ensuring security of both systems and lack of unauthorized interaction between them.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 7, 2014
    Publication date: October 30, 2014
    Inventors: Wagan Sarukhanov, Igor Komov, Alexander Podelko
  • Patent number: 8869175
    Abstract: An apparatus having an OS to perform exclusive control among programs that are based on a predetermined API on a channel for communicating with a peripheral, a first driver for the peripheral to startup based on a request that is based on the predetermined API and communicate with the peripheral via the channel, a second driver for the peripheral to startup based on a request that is not based on the predetermined API and communicate with the peripheral via the channel, a program to communicate with the peripheral via the channel, and a controller to, when the second driver is started up based on a request that is not based on the predetermined API, if the program is using the channel, close the channel that the program is using based on exclusive control by the OS by starting the first driver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hideki Hanano
  • Publication number: 20140310726
    Abstract: A communication device includes at least two output apparatuses, and an interface circuit configured as an interface between the at least two output apparatuses and software drivers supported by an operating system embedded within the communication device, so that the software drivers can access the output apparatuses. The interface circuit includes an access control circuit configured to temporarily allocate a first one of the at least two apparatuses with a first one of the software drivers, so that other ones of the software drivers cannot access the first output apparatus during its allocation to the first software driver. The interface circuit also includes shared resource circuits configured to dynamically direct communication from the first software driver to the temporarily allocated first output apparatus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 11, 2014
    Publication date: October 16, 2014
    Applicant: ST-Ericsson SA
    Inventor: Nicolas Louboutin
  • Patent number: 8860998
    Abstract: A system is provided for supporting multiple platforms with common personal preferences for printer drivers. The set preferences for the printer driver are therefore reusable and may be moved from one driver to another. The system involves the provision of a common format for printer driver preferences. When a new printer is brought to a system or a user moves to a station that uses a different printer, the preferences are readily moved to that location. Further, an MIS department may provide a corporate wide printer preference solution, for example for printing a particular page or printing in a particular style. The preferences may not be identical for each printer due to differences in the capabilities of various platforms. The printer preferences overwrite a default value in printers with preferences, to the extent that each printer has the options available. To the extent that these options are not available, the printer reverts to its default setting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 14, 2014
    Assignee: Electronics for Imaging, Inc.
    Inventor: Ramgopal Vidyanand
  • Publication number: 20140298051
    Abstract: A feature management system and method of managing access to API functionality. One embodiment of the feature management system includes: (1) a driver configured to carry out functions, including a restricted function, in response to calls thereto, (2) a memory configured to store a management action associated with the restricted function and (3) a feature manager operable to recognize the call to the restricted function and to retrieve the management action from the memory and direct the driver to carry out the management action in addition to the restricted function.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 28, 2013
    Publication date: October 2, 2014
    Applicant: Nvidia Corporation
    Inventors: David Wyatt, Daniel Nolan
  • Patent number: 8848217
    Abstract: A set of files making up a plug-in that is to be added to a base printer driver is stored all together in a single plug-in storage file. While no plug-in is added, the plug-in storage file is kept empty. A file making up the printer driver and the plug-in storage file are included as printer driver configuration files, and are described in a file list in a driver information file. When the printer driver is copied to a client computer, the files making up the printer driver and the plug-in storage file are transferred, following the descriptions in the file list.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2014
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventor: Hiroto Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 8839274
    Abstract: Handling a virtual method call includes extracting, from a pointer to an object, an identifier associated with the class of the object, the pointer to the object being associated with the virtual method call, and the identifier being embedded within the pointer; using the identifier to obtain a virtual method table, including locating a first entry in a class identifier table mapping a plurality of class identifiers to a corresponding plurality of class data, the first entry being associated with the identifier and comprising the virtual method table or a pointer used to obtain the virtual method table; locating a second entry in the virtual method table, the second entry being associated with the virtual method call; and jumping to an address associated with the second entry to execute code at the address.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2014
    Assignee: Azul Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Gil Tene, Cliff N. Click, Jr., Murali Sundaresan, Michael A. Wolf
  • Patent number: 8839270
    Abstract: A method, system, computer system and computer program product determine that a communication connection has switched between an active state and an inactive state and cause a user interface for communicating via the connection to be updated asynchronously to correspond to the current state. For example, the user interface can indicate that the connection is active or inactive and allow or disallow initiation of communication via the connection accordingly. For example, consider a call center agent using a computer system as the user interface to the telephone channel, but the user does not click a “hang up” button when the caller hangs up the telephone. The disconnection of the telephone is determined and the user interface is asynchronously updated, thereby allowing the agent to make another call. In one embodiment, a communication server determines the change in state and causes a web browser user interface to be updated asynchronously.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2014
    Assignee: Siebel Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Mingtse Chen, Anil K. Annadata, Kuang Huang
  • Patent number: 8839275
    Abstract: A method and system for intercepting I/O requests and responses in a proprietary operating environment or hypervisor-virtualization utilizing open source software or general public license device drivers. The processing includes at the added functionality module comprises at least one of encrypting, de-duplicating, compressing and caching.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2014
    Assignee: Proximal Data, Inc.
    Inventor: Thomas B. Bolt
  • Patent number: 8839267
    Abstract: Disclosed embodiments include a Java messaging method for efficient inter-node and intra-node communications on computer systems with multi-core processors interconnected via high-speed network interconnections. According to one embodiment, the Java messaging method accesses the high-speed networks and memory more directly and reduces message buffering. Additionally, intra-node communications utilize shared memory transfers within the same Java Virtual Machine. The described Java messaging method does not compromise Java portability and is both user and application transparent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2014
    Assignee: Universidade da Coruna-Otri
    Inventors: Guillermo Lopez Taboada, Juan Tourino Dominguez, Ramon Doallo Biempica
  • Patent number: 8839240
    Abstract: A vendor independent interface is provided between a hypervisor and an adjunct partition associated with a self-virtualizing IO resource to effectively abstract away vendor-specific interface details for the self-virtualizing IO resource and its adjunct partition. By doing so, vendor-specific implementation details may be isolated from the configuration and management functionality in a hypervisor, thus minimizing the changes to vendor specific firmware in order to manage new or revised self-virtualizing IO resources.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2014
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Patrick A. Barrett, Charles S. Graham, Andrew T. Koch, Bryan M. Logan, Kyle A. Lucke
  • Patent number: 8832720
    Abstract: A multimedia driver architecture allows significant portions of the driver components to be shared across operating systems and hardware platforms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Jaques Paves, Mukundakumar Rajukumar
  • Patent number: 8832718
    Abstract: Method and apparatus for providing an interface between application software and an SPS sub-system embedded in a location-enabled device is described. In one example, the location-enabled device includes a satellite positioning system (SPS) receiver, a hardware communication port coupled to the SPS receiver, a central processing unit (CPU), and a memory. The memory stores program code for execution by the CPU. The program code includes application software, SPS control software, and a driver. The application software is configured to communicate using the hardware communication port. The SPS control software is configured to control the SPS receiver. The driver is configured to provide a virtual communication port between the application software and the SPS control software.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: Broadcom Corporation
    Inventors: Charles Abraham, Sergei Podshivalov
  • Patent number: 8832719
    Abstract: An interface system includes a secure digital (SD) driver module to communicate with an SD card over a bus, a secure digital input/output (SDIO) driver module to communicate with an SDIO card over the bus, and an input/output port. A method of operating a host in the interface system includes coupling the bus to the SD card while a first mode is enabled, coupling the bus to the SDIO card while a second mode is enabled, and enabling the first mode in response to a request for access to the SD card. The method includes, while the first mode is enabled, (i) listening for a notification signal arriving from the SDIO card via the input/output port, indicating that an interrupt is pending at the SDIO card, and (ii) in response to the notification signal, enabling the second mode to allow the SDIO card to transmit the interrupt to the host.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: Marvell International Ltd.
    Inventors: Frank Huang, James Jan, Robert Lee, Bing Zhao, Yao Chen
  • Patent number: 8825911
    Abstract: All steps required to create and operate a peripheral device of an electronic device can be performed without the need to plug in the peripheral device to the electronic device. Setup information for a peripheral device is extracted, modified and stored to fit to a physical existent peripheral device. The modified setup information is used to create a data structure that is passed to the peripheral bus driver. As the data structure contains a hot plug notification the reception causes the peripheral bus driver to initiate the setup process for the peripheral device. As the data structure is built from setup information that is available at the electronic device no additional user action is required. The invention also allows the creation of a device object for existing signed driver packets that may not be altered.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2014
    Assignee: Open Invention Network, LLC
    Inventor: Martin Wieland
  • Patent number: 8826307
    Abstract: A computer with an extensible framework for facilitating communication between a software component installed on the computer and a device driver that executes functions in response to vendor-specific command objects (e.g., OIDs). The framework defines data structures and a standardized format for defining and implementing private interfaces. After selecting a private interface that is commonly supported by a software component and a driver, a private communication path may be established by an operating system component to facilitate the transfer of command information from the software component to the driver. The private communication path allows commands packaged as OIDs to be routed from software components to intended drivers. By defining private interfaces which route commands from software components to intended drivers, the extensible framework mitigates potential incompatibilities that may arise when drivers created by different vendors include OIDs with the same OID value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2014
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Narasimha Rao S.s. Nagampalli, Alireza Dabagh, Alok Manchanda, Taroon Mandhana, Sharad Mittal, Olivier Contant, Noel W. Anderson, Bernard Aboba, Jerry E. Peterson
  • Publication number: 20140244990
    Abstract: Apparatus and methods for booting a user equipment are described. A device boot of the user equipment may be performed. Peripherals and associated drivers for the user equipment may be configured. A high-level operating system (HLOS) may be booted. The configuring may occur before the booting of the HLOS. Apparatus and methods for loading peripheral device drivers for a user equipment are also described. Peripherals that can be associated with a user equipment may be determined. Drivers for the determined peripherals may be loaded. The loaded drivers may be associated with a high-level operating system (HLOS) architecture regardless of a type of user equipment on which the HLOS is provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2013
    Publication date: August 28, 2014
    Applicant: QUALCOMM INCORPORATED
    Inventor: Michael G. BARRETT
  • Patent number: 8819707
    Abstract: A system for importing, from a host computer, a device driver into a guest computing environment provided by an external media device which does not include the device driver, includes a first computing environment, a second computing environment, a device discovery agent, a device driver discovery agent, and a device driver installation agent. A device driver associated with a device available to a first computing environment is installed on a computing device. The second computing environment is executed by a virtual machine on the computing device, based upon data retrieved from an external media device. The device discovery agent identifies a device available to the second computing environment. The device driver discovery agent determines that the installed device driver is associated with the device available to the second computing environment. The device driver installation agent imports the installed device driver into the second computing environment without user input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2014
    Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Zhixue Wu, Robertus Johannes van der Linden, David John Otway
  • Patent number: 8819299
    Abstract: A method and apparatus may be configured to create setup information, and perform the initialization and performance of an installation of a peripheral device of an electronic device. One example method may include storing a device identification (ID) of the peripheral device, extracting data and creating a data structure from existent setup information. The method may also include replacing a device ID in the data structure with the device ID of the peripheral device, and creating and storing a setup information file from content of the data structure. The method may also include creating and passing a request to at least one of a device driver of an interface of the peripheral device and a bus that initiates the installation of the peripheral device. The peripheral device may not be connected to the electronic device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2014
    Assignee: Open Invention Network, LLC
    Inventor: Martin Wieland
  • Patent number: 8819294
    Abstract: A standardized 802.11 hardware control interface may be provided such that a driver may communicate with any one or more of a variety of network adapters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2014
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Jiandong Ruan, Thomas W. Kuehnel
  • Publication number: 20140237488
    Abstract: A system and method is described to allow web applications to be nm from Wi-Fi capable computer devices independent of the operating system of the computer devices. The web applications are stored in a web server which also acts as a wireless access point. Peripherals, which are locally accessible by users and are associated with certain functions of the web applications, are operatively connected to the web server. The web pages of the web application are sent via the Wi-Fi network to the computer devices allowing the user of the computer devices to use the web application as well as their associated peripherals.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 24, 2012
    Publication date: August 21, 2014
    Applicant: DOMINOPOS PTE LTD
    Inventors: Bruno Zysman, Jeff Duboc
  • Patent number: 8812644
    Abstract: A system for enabling a customized function to be implemented at at least one device in a domain, including: a set of application programming interfaces (APIs) coupled with a system, wherein the system is coupled with a server managing a premises, wherein the system is configured for interacting with at least one third party application that has a set of instructions thereon, via the set of APIs, such that the at least one third party application can communicate with a device driver at the premises without having knowledge of a protocol thereon and without having knowledge of the at least one device, wherein the premises comprises the at least one device; and an instruction translator coupled with the set of APIs which translates the set of instructions received from the at least one third party application to be an action and protocol that the at least one device understands.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Assignee: Candi Controls, Inc.
    Inventors: Mike Anderson, Steve Raschke
  • Patent number: 8813098
    Abstract: A method to interact with a local USB device is disclosed. Messages are transmitted to a remote host controller driver from a host controller associated with the local USB device. Messages are received from the remote host controller driver for the host controller. In some embodiments, a transfer descriptor prototype is received from the remote host controller driver. A completed transfer descriptor is received from the remote host controller driver. The completed transfer descriptor and the transfer descriptor prototype are transformed into a modified transfer descriptor in part by using a collection of rules. The modified transfer descriptor is submitted to the local host controller without intervention from the remote host controller driver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Nils Bunger, Aly E. Orady, Matthew B. Debski, Pankaj Garg, Dali Kilani, Teju Khubchandani, Himadri Choudhury
  • Patent number: 8811800
    Abstract: Multimedia content containing moving pictures and audio is divided into multiple scenes and metadata is generated for each of the scenes obtained as a result of the division. It is possible to generate metadata containing scene structure information metadata that describes the hierarchical structure of the content in addition to scene section information and titles. Also, a name or an identifier of each descriptor contained in the metadata is described as hint information for manipulation of metadata composed of at least one descriptor describing semantic content, a structure, and characteristics of content.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshimi Moriya, Hirofumi Nishikawa, Shunichi Sekiguchi, Kohtaro Asai, Yoshihisa Yamada, Kenji Otoi, Shinichi Kuroda, Fuminobu Ogawa
  • Patent number: 8805994
    Abstract: A system, method and computer program product that is designed to support high-availability, rapid fault recovery, out of band condition signaling and/or other quality of service assurances and security in a networked environment. In one aspect, a method of the invention includes the step of providing a processing system with a dual-kernel or multi-kernel software operating system. The operating system includes a supervisory operating system and a secondary operating system that provides network functions to user applications. The method also includes the step of providing a Network Control Software (NCS) in the supervisory operating system. The NCS is configured to transparently monitor and control network operations in the secondary operating system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2014
    Assignee: Intellectual Ventures Fund 73 LLC
    Inventor: Victor J. Yodaiken
  • Patent number: 8806511
    Abstract: A method, including receiving, by a user space driver framework (UDF) library executing from a user space of a memory over a monolithic operating system kernel, a kernel application programming interface (API) call from a device driver executing from the user space. The UDF library then performs an operation corresponding to the kernel API call.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2014
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Michael Adda, Dan Aloni, Avner Braverman
  • Publication number: 20140223451
    Abstract: The creation of a virtual network adapter is disclosed. At least one existing network device having an existing driver is discovered. At least one of an existing device-to-driver mapping and an existing driver associated with the existing network device is removed. A new driver capable of communicating with the existing network device using a common set of primitive commands is installed. The new driver is mapped to the existing device. The use of the virtual network adapter is also disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 1, 2013
    Publication date: August 7, 2014
    Applicant: Hobnob, Inc.
    Inventors: Jared Go, Aron B. Hall, Wen Shu Tang Lu, Annie Ding
  • Patent number: 8793662
    Abstract: Runtime code hooking techniques are described in which a place holder instruction within a compiled module is used as an entry point to enable code hooking. A hook function to modify a target function is developed. At runtime, the target function to be modified is located. A place holder instruction within the target function is overwritten with instructions to cause execution of the hook function when the target function is called.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2014
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Ashwin S. Needamangala, Daniel S. Mihai, Hristo H. Ivanov, Marius Popa, Mariyan D. Fransazov
  • Patent number: 8786869
    Abstract: A printer driver includes: a core driver performing a constraining process to a print setting based on function information containing a constraint for the print setting and stored in a storage unit, and being enabled to accept an addition of a plug-in, wherein the core driver expands basic function information corresponding to the core driver onto a memory as information having a tree structure, when plug-in function information corresponding to the plug-in is stored in the storage unit, the core driver expands the plug-in function information on the memory as information having a tree structure, the core driver merges the information expanded from the plug-in function information into the information expanded from the basic function information, and the core driver performs the constraining process to a print setting based on a parent-and-child relation in a tree structure of the information thus merged.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2014
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Limited
    Inventor: Shigeo Araki
  • Patent number: 8789069
    Abstract: Various aspects are disclosed herein for replacing the hardware backing the memory locations associated with a virtual machine with a backing mechanism. The backing mechanism may have the memory locations appear to contain data convenient to the driver in the virtual machine, typically containing what the hardware would have returned if the hardware had been read from. The data image being returned from the memory locations may travel with the virtual machine even if the virtual machine moves to a different physical machine that does not contain hardware equivalent to the hardware that was recently removed from the virtual machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2014
    Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
    Inventors: Dustin L. Green, Jacob Oshins
  • Patent number: 8789070
    Abstract: A system for virtualization of a local device includes a proxy configured to report, to a remote system, a status of a local Universal Serial Bus (“USB”) device of the system, and to receive a transaction request designated for the local device from the remote system. The system further includes a generic device driver configured to receive the transaction request for the local device, and to provide a result of the transaction request. The proxy is further configured to provide the result of the transaction request to the remote system. The local device is remote to the remote system, which is configured to include a device-specific driver for the local device. A system for utilizing a local device of a remote system is also provided. The system may include an agent and a virtual bus driver. Methods and machine-readable media are also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2014
    Assignee: Wyse Technology L.L.C.
    Inventors: Daniel Ernesto Barreto, Shishuang Wang, Jayadev Marulappa Niranjanmurthy, Sriranga Seetharamaiah
  • Patent number: 8782671
    Abstract: A method comprises determining a flexible limit on an amount of resource usage by a driver domain on behalf of a given virtual machine (VM). The method further comprises controlling the resource usage by the driver domain on behalf of the given VM so as not to exceed the flexible limit except under a permitted condition. In certain embodiments the resource usage by the driver domain on behalf of the given VM is controlled so as not to exceed the flexible limit except when a slack share of resource usage is available to the driver domain. Such a slack share of resource usage is a share of resource usage allocated to the driver domain that will not otherwise be used on behalf of another VM.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2014
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L. P.
    Inventors: Ludmila Cherkasova, Diwaker Gupta, Robert D. Gardner
  • Patent number: 8776039
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a test and measurement application executing on a computing device is interfaced with one or more external device coupled to the computing device. A device driver is selected for use with one of the external device from two or more available device drivers that are each compatible with the external device. The device driver is coupled to a virtual driver interface that provides the test and measurement application with a standardized interface to any of the two or more available device drivers. The test and measurement application communicates with the external device through the virtual driver interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2014
    Assignee: The MathWorks, Inc.
    Inventors: Rob Purser, David Tarkowski, Christian Portal
  • Patent number: 8773674
    Abstract: A system for interfacing a universal print driver with a print device after the universal print driver is deployed. The system includes a universal print driver interfaced with a network and at least one associated print device. A repository stores a set of device compatibility packs (DCPs) for each of the at least one associated print device interfaced with the universal print driver. The universal print driver is adapted to search the repository for a DCP if the associated print device is unsupported by the print driver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2014
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Cody X. Heffner, David L. Salgado, Jonathan A. Edmonds, Alan K. Robertson
  • Patent number: 8776089
    Abstract: A server supporting the implementation of virtual machines includes a local memory used for caching. During I/O intensive processes, a “content aware” cache filter component of the server first accesses a cache structure in a content cache device to determine whether data blocks have been stored in the cache structure prior to requesting the data blocks from a networked disk array via a standard I/O stack of the hypervisor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2014
    Assignee: VMware, Inc.
    Inventor: Scott Howard Davis
  • Patent number: 8769549
    Abstract: A graphical program execution environment that facilitates communication between a producer program and a consumer program is disclosed. The producer program may store data in a memory block allocated by the producer program. A graphical program may communicate with the producer program to obtain a reference to the memory block. The graphical program may asynchronously pass the reference to the consumer program, e.g., may pass the reference without blocking or waiting while the consumer program accesses the data in the memory block. After the consumer program is finished accessing the data, the consumer program may asynchronously notify the graphical program execution environment to release the memory block. The graphical program execution environment may then notify the producer program that the block of memory is no longer in use so that the producer program can de-allocate or re-use the memory block.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2014
    Assignee: National Instruments Corporation
    Inventors: J. Adam Kemp, Neil S. Feiereisel, Brent C. Schwan
  • Publication number: 20140181845
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a first coding circuit, a second coding circuit, and a plurality of source series terminated driver slices. The first coding circuit may be configured to generate a plurality of digital filter control codes in response to a plurality of filter coefficients and a control signal. The control signal selects between a plurality of communication specifications. The second coding circuit may be configured to generate a plurality of driver slice control codes in response to the plurality of digital filter control codes. The plurality of source series terminated driver slices configured to generate an output signal according to a selected one of the plurality of communication specifications in response to the plurality of driver slice control codes, a main cursor signal, a pre-cursor signal, and a post cursor signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 27, 2013
    Publication date: June 26, 2014
    Applicant: LSI Corporation
    Inventors: Tai Jing, Lijun Li, Shiva Prasad Kotagiri
  • Publication number: 20140181844
    Abstract: A management controller of a computing device is identified, the first management controller implemented in hardware of the first computing device and independent of a central processing unit (CPU) of the computing device. The management controller is queried for attributes of the computing device. Data is received from the management controller identifying one or more attributes of the computing device and a device drive is identified for the computing device. Communication is facilitated with the computing device using the device driver. In some instances, an inter-device operation is identified involving the computing device and at least one other computing device. The exchange of messages in the operation can be facilitated, for instance, by translating a message from the computing device for use by the other computing device involved in the operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 23, 2012
    Publication date: June 26, 2014
    Inventors: Vincent Edward Von Bokern, Purushottam Goel, Sven Schrecker
  • Patent number: 8760700
    Abstract: Common portions of applications are extracted as common system service. A platform is formed by the common system service and a general purpose OS. A printer application, a copy application, and various applications are mounted on the platform. As a result, each software (application) corresponding to a printer, a copier, a facsimile device, and so on can be developed efficiently and the productivity of the apparatus as a whole can be improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2014
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Tetsuya Morita
  • Patent number: 8763017
    Abstract: A communications device is disclosed that includes a communication part configured to perform communications with an electronic apparatus, and an application related to the electronic apparatus. The communication part notifies the application of an event occurring in the electronic apparatus in response to reception thereof, and transmits a request to operate a hardware resource of the electronic apparatus to the electronic apparatus, the request being generated in the processing of the application executed in response to the event.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2014
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Hideki Ohhashi
  • Patent number: 8763016
    Abstract: Implementations of the present disclosure include methods, systems, and computer-readable storage mediums for executing a user interface on a computing device, generating one or more event handlers executed on the computing device, each event handler corresponding to a local device service file, receiving first data at a first event handler of a first local device service associated with a first device that is in electronic communication with the computing device, generating, using the first event handler, a first event that includes the first data, receiving, at an external device service, the first event, generating, using the external device service, a first external device event based on the first event, and performing a first action based on the external device event.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2014
    Assignee: Accenture Global Services Limited
    Inventor: Eric Allan Frome
  • Publication number: 20140173639
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes providing a biometric framework in a native environment thereof. The biometric framework includes a biometric service, a biometric device interface (BDI), and a BDI driver. The biometric service includes a biometric unit relative to a biometric sensor. The biometric unit includes a sensor adapter, an engine adapter, and a storage adapter. The method further includes extending the biometric framework to store biometric templates in a secondary database maintained in a secondary location. The extending includes extending the storage adapter to support storage in the secondary location.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 14, 2012
    Publication date: June 19, 2014
    Applicant: DELL PRODUCTS L.P.
    Inventors: Kenneth Wade Stufflebeam, Daniel L. Hamlin
  • Publication number: 20140165079
    Abstract: The present invention provides a technical solution for a unified driver used in a handheld device. An embodiment of the technical solution may comprise a unified driving method used in a handheld device, which method may comprise: determining driver types of currently installed hardware; setting a current dispatch table on the basis of the driver type and a unified dispatch table suitable for multiple hardware and driving corresponding hardware or software by calling the current dispatch table.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 14, 2014
    Publication date: June 12, 2014
    Applicant: STMicroelectronics R&D (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Christophe Quarre, Maoping Weng, Zhe Wu
  • Patent number: 8751696
    Abstract: A data processing system and computer instructions in a data processing system for identifying device configurations. Unique identification information is identified for a set of devices in the data processing system. The identified unique identification information is compared with previously identified unique identification information. Configuration data is moved to a memory for devices in the set of devices in which a match exists between the identified unique identification information and the previously identified unique identification information for devices. Configuration information is obtained from a device in which configuration information is absent in the memory after configuration data has been moved to the memory for the devices to form a current set of configuration data for the set of devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 10, 2014
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Priti Bavaria, Stephan O. Broyles, Glenn E. Rinkenberger
  • Patent number: 8739177
    Abstract: In a computing system, sharing a physical NIC device among multiple virtual machines may be implemented by a customer virtual machine by receiving, by a virtual network interface card (NIC) driver of a customer operating system (OS) running in the customer virtual machine on a computing system, a customer OS request packet for transmission by a physical NIC driver over a network coupled to the computing system, and copying at least a portion of the customer OS request packet into a free block of shared memory of the computing system and appending the block to a transmission queue in the shared memory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2014
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Yi Qian, Hua Zhou, Fujin Huang, Michael A. Rothman, Vincent J. Zimmer
  • Publication number: 20140143794
    Abstract: Methods for enabling software from a storage-capable device including the steps of: loading, by a host system operationally connected to the storage-capable device, software from an authenticatable storage area residing in the storage-capable device; validating the software; and installing the validated software, wherein the validated software provides an interface between the host system and the storage-capable device. In some embodiments, the software is enabling software, the method further including the step of loading, by the host system, device-functionality software from the authenticatable storage area. In some embodiments, the method further includes the steps of: validating the device-functionality software; and enabling the validated device-functionality software.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 14, 2013
    Publication date: May 22, 2014
    Inventors: Donald Ray Bryant-Rich, Judah Gamliel Hahn
  • Patent number: 8732576
    Abstract: An operating system providing multi-touch support for (user) applications in a mobile device. In one embodiment, a check of whether the touch screen (in the mobile device) has multi-touch capability is performed. A first interface with multi-touch capability is provided to the (user) applications if the touch screen has multi-touch capability and a second interface with single touch capability being provided if the touch screen does not have multi-touch capability. The first and second interfaces may be provided by corresponding device drivers loaded when the mobile device is initialized with the operating system. A device driver (providing the second interface) is also designed to perform the check and execute another device driver (providing the first interface) if the touch screen has multi-touch capability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2014
    Assignee: Nvidia Corporation
    Inventor: Varun Vishwas Wadekar
  • Patent number: 8726298
    Abstract: A cloud-based instrument driver system enables a user device to interact with one or more instruments through a remotely located driver cloud. The driver cloud may store drivers and ancillary software. The user device may be connected to each instrument either directly or indirectly, for example, over one or more computer networks, and may be connected to and communicate directly with the driver cloud over the computer network. However, the driver cloud and the instrument may not be in direct communication. The user device relays commands and responses to and from the instrument to the driver cloud for translation into a format suitable for processing by the user device. Utilization of the driver cloud obviates the need to obtain, install and maintain any drivers and/or ancillary software on the user device in order to enable the device to interact with the instrument.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2014
    Assignee: The MathWorks, Inc.
    Inventors: Ankit Desai, Robert K. Purser
  • Patent number: 8719847
    Abstract: A home device management technique is described that allows a user to manage a network of distributed home devices. Special application modules, driver modules, and service exchange ports are employed. Each application modules implements some functionality in the home, preferably using one or more devices in the home distributed system. Each driver module provides the logic for operating one or multiple distributed home devices and is capable of receiving commands from application modules and sending them to devices, detecting events for an associated type of home device, translating the detected event into a format usable by the application modules and notifying the application modules of the events. Events are communicated between the application modules and the driver modules by using one or more service exchange ports. Access control policies are employed to control access to the home devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2014
    Assignee: Microsoft Corp.
    Inventors: Sharad Agarwal, Paramvir Bahl, Alice Jane Bernheim Brush, Colin Kimm Dixon, Bongshin Lee, Ratul Mahajan, Stefan Saroiu