METHOD AND SYSTEM OF DYNAMICALLY CONFIGURING FUNCTIONS OF MACHINE

Abstract

In a method of dynamically configuring functions of a machine, an agent is provided to a first machine, thereby receiving a projectable space instance. The projectable space instance is configured in a second machine for creating a workspace and transmitted to the first machine based on a predefined protocol. The projectable space instance is parsed with the agent to automatically build a working environment for operating therein a projected workspace corresponding to the workspace created by way of the projectable space instance.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a configuring method, and particularly to a method of dynamically configuring functions of a machine by way of a workspace. The present invention also relates to a system of dynamically configuring functions of a machine.

BACKGROUND

As information and communications technology improves every day, building an informationized, digitized, human-centered and facilitative smart life has become a trend in the future. Meanwhile, home appliances that are parts of our daily lives would become keys to digital homes and smart lives for sure. Hence, the development of intelligentized home appliances would be one of the mainstreams in industry.

Generally speaking, the functions of a commercially available electronic product have been defined before leaving factory. Ordinary consumers cannot modify the electronic product to have more or desired functions, and cannot change the settings of the electronic product, either. However, it sometimes needs a little modification to meet the user's requirement. For instance, a commercially available home television generally receives cable signals, internet signals or audio/video signals and displays frames on the television screen in response to the received signals. If a user would like to have warning or reminding information, e.g. low battery status of another electronic product or a personal schedule such as meeting time, displayed on the television screen, the user needs to buy associated auxiliary products to implement the requirements, or buy another television which meets the requirements to replace for the existing one. It would not be an ideal type of smart life.

SUMMARY

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide method and system of dynamically configuring functions of a machine, whereby a user can make adaptive settings for the machine in conformity to people's habits and requirement.

In an aspect, the present invention provides a method of dynamically configuring functions of a machine, which comprises: providing an agent to a first machine, thereby receiving a projectable space instance, which is configured in a second machine for creating a workspace and transmitted to the first machine based on a predefined protocol; and parsing the projectable space instance with the agent to automatically build a working environment for operating therein a projected workspace corresponding to the workspace created by way of the projectable space instance.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a system of dynamically configuring functions of a machine, which comprises: a first machine comprising an instance processing unit; and a second machine configured therein a projectable space instance for creating a workspace; wherein the instance processing unit receives the projectable space instance from the second machine based on a predefined protocol and parses the projectable space instance to automatically build a working environment for operating therein a projected workspace corresponding to the workspace created by way of the projectable space instance.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a machine, which comprises: an instance processing unit for receiving a projectable space instance transmitted to the machine based on a predefined protocol; wherein an another machine configured therein the projectable space instance for creating a workspace before the projectable space instance is transmitted to the machine; and wherein the instance processing unit receives the projectable space instance and parses the projectable space instance to automatically build a working environment for operating therein a projected workspace corresponding to the workspace created by way of the projectable space instance.

In an embodiment, the projectable space instance is transmitted to the first machine via a uniform resource identifier (URI) complying with the predefined protocol.

In an embodiment, the URI is a HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) URI, a FTP (file transfer protocol) URI, a local file URI, or a combination thereof.

In an embodiment, the instance processing unit is an agent.

In an embodiment, the agent is a projector, which parses the projectable space instance and builds the working environment.

In an embodiment, the agent loads a projector into the first machine for parsing the projectable space instance and building the working environment.

In an embodiment, the projectable space instance is an object, an XML (extensible markup language) document, or an instance which is instantiated with a structured language or a structured protocol.

In an embodiment, the first machine is a home appliance, a medical facility or a network appliance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a scheme showing a unifying method, which is applicable to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a scheme illustrating implementation of a personal workspace with a unified script used as an intermediate language;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram exemplifying allocation of unified matters in a personal workspace, which is applicable to the present invention;

FIGS. 4, 5A and 5B are schematic diagrams exemplifying creation of a projected workspace, which is applicable to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram exemplifying the relationship between a projectable space instance and a projected workspace applicable to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of dynamically configuring functions of a machine according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram exemplifying an initial state of a configuring system to which a configuring method according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied;

FIGS. 9A˜9C are schemes exemplifying sequential operations of the configuring system of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram exemplifying an initial state of a configuring system to which a configuring method according to another embodiment of the present invention is applied; and

FIGS. 11A˜11C are schemes exemplifying sequential operations of the configuring system of FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention can be readily appreciated by referring to the following descriptions, including the following glossary of terms and the concluding examples. It is to be noted that some patent publication numbers or patent application numbers are cited throughout the specification, and the entire disclosures thereof are to be incorporated herein for reference.

In the embodiments described below, the present invention is described by way of examples and characteristic illustrations, but is not to be limited to the examples and characteristic illustrations. The term “information source” used herein indicates a symbolic sequence of useful information that can be specifically interpreted as, but not limited to, a message for organizing and labeling data. The information source includes a website (such as internet service), intranet, software, electronic book, database and other media of information (such as storage media of non-transitory computer or storage media of mobile device). The term “original information” used herein indicates, but is not limited to, a file, web page, database row, policy, rule or any information accessible from corresponding machine or server. The term “tool” used herein indicates, but is not limited to, a utility, widget, agent, application, service or any executable element accessible from corresponding machine or server.

Furthermore, the “original information” and the “original tool” are embodiments of the “original matter” in the present invention. By way of a unifying method, multiple “original matters” from the same or different “information sources” are modelled into multiple “unified matters”. The resulting “unified matters” existing in the same working environment are then compatible with one another and capable of conducting cooperative task. Moreover, the “unified tool” and the “unified information unit” are embodiments of the “unified matter” in the present invention. The term “matterizer” used herein indicates a component, device or program code for unifying the “original matter”.

In a preferred embodiment, the unifying method mentioned above includes steps of reorganizing at least one original information obtained from at least one of the multiple information sources based on a unified data structure, thereby modeling the original information into a unified information unit; and/or reorganizing at least one original tool obtained from at least one of the multiple information sources based on another unified data structure, thereby modeling the original tool into a unified tool. The unified data structure and the another unified data structure may be the same or different. The unifying method can be implemented with a matterizer.

Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a scheme showing a unifying method, which is applicable to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a matterizer 992 reorganizes an attribute and an associated link of an original matter 991 based on a unified data model 993, thereby modeling the original matter 991 into a unified matter 994. The resulting basic attribute of the unified matter 994 then includes a type and a link of the original matter 991.

In this embodiment, the original matter 991 could be, but is not limited to an original information and/or an original tool. In the above mentioned unifying method, if the attribute accessible from the original information complies with the attribute requirement of the unified information unit, the unified information unit can be directly generated through the matterizer 992. On the other hand, if the attribute accessible from the original information does not comply with the attribute requirement of the unified information unit, a process of logically reorganizing the attribute and the associated link of the original information to redefine the original information is needed, in order to transform the original information into a new original information with an attribute consistent to the attribute requirement of the unified information unit. Under this circumstance, the unified information unit is indirectly generated.

Furthermore, the unified tool is directly generated through the matterizer 992 when the original tool is compatible with the working environment of the workspace; and an adapter and/or a software development kit (SDK) for driving the original tool would be required as a medium for generating the unified tool, i.e. indirectly, when the original tool is incompatible with the working environment of the workspace. In other words, the adapter is used to provide an interface implementation to fit the working environment.

The details of the embodiments of unifying method, the acquisition of the unified matters and the operation of the matterizer according to the present invention can be understood with reference to, but not limited to, the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/324,069, entitled “A method of unifying information and tool from a plurality of information sources” as well as the China Patent Application No. 201410768564.X, which claims the benefit of priority to the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/324,069 and is entitled “A method of unifying information and tool from a plurality of information sources and computer product and device using the method”, which are assigned to the same assignee. The entire disclosures of the co-pending patent applications are incorporated herein for reference, and would not be redundantly described. Furthermore, those skilled in the art may make equivalent modifications according to practical requirements.

Hereinafter, two more examples of unifying methods applicable to the present invention are given as follows. The first one is an information unifying method applied to Garmin satellite navigation. Similar to above-mentioned unifying method, a unified point information (regarded as the unified information unit of the present invention) corresponding to an original point information (regarded as the original information of the present invention) is obtained after a unifying process is performed on the original point information by executing the Point of Interest (POI) function of Garmin satellite navigation. The second one is a tool unifying method applied to an Android system. An Android system is an open source mobile operating system based on Linux. In general, application programs (regarded as the original tool of the present invention) of Android systems are written in Java. Therefore, application programs (regarded as the original tool of the present invention) written in Java can be modeled into unified applications (regarded as the unified tool of the present invention) compatible with the Android system. The resulting unified application programs corresponding to the application programs written in Java are then executable in the Android system.

The workspace described herein is a space where at least one matterizer, at least one information and/or at least one tool can interact with one another and/or execute specified tasks. The at least one information and/or at least one tool can be, but is not limited to be, imported into the workspace through the at least one matterizer. Information importers 9881, 9882 and 9883 to be described later with reference to FIG. 5 are exemplified embodiments of the matterizer. The unified script described herein is an intermediate language for implementing the workspace, and the at least one matterizer, the at least one information and/or the at least one tool are provided, for example built-in or plugged-in, to the workspace by way of the unified script.

In an embodiment, the above-mentioned at least one information is a unified information unit which is generated after at least one original information obtained from at least one information source is unified. The above-mentioned at least one tool is a unified tool which is generated after at least one original tool obtained from at least one information source is unified. Any user could add, build or plug any unified information unit he needs and/or unified tool he needs from corresponding information sources into a personal workspace according to practical needs. In other words, the workspace can be a user-oriented personal workspace.

Please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an implementation concept of using the unified script as an intermediate language for implementing the workspace, and FIG. 3 schematically illustrates an exemplified configuration of a personal workspace. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a unified information unit 985′ corresponding to an original information 985 in the Dropbox 982, a first unified tool 986′ corresponding to a compatible original tool 986 in the cloud storage 983 and a second unified tool 987′ corresponding to an incompatible original tool 987 in a server 984 are selectively combined into a personal workspace 981 by a user. This can be accomplished by compiling a unified script 980 and configuring an information importer 9881 of Dropbox 982, an information importer 9882 of the cloud storage 983 and an information importer 9883 of the server 984 according to the unified script 980. Accordingly, the original information 985 in the Dropbox 982 can be unified into the unified information unit 985′ and then imported into the personal workspace 981. For example without limitation, the unified script 980 is defined as an intermediate language for implementing the workspace, and the information importer 9882 is a matterizer of Dropbox.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the original tool saved in the cloud storage 983 is a compatible original tool 986 which is compatible with the component architecture of the unified tool of the personal workspace 981. The first unified tool 986′ corresponding to the compatible original tool 986 is directly provided to the personal workspace 981 through the information importer 9882 of the unified script 980.

On the other hand, the original tool saved in the server 984 is the incompatible original tool 987 which is incompatible with the component architecture of the unified tool of the personal workspace 981. Then the second unified tool 987′ corresponding to the incompatible original tool 987 is indirectly provided to the personal workspace 981 through a compatible adaptor 989 and the information importer 9883 of the unified script 980.

FIG. 3 further shows that the unified information unit 985′, the first unified tool 986′ and the second unified tool 987′ are flexibly configured and arranged, e.g. grouped or placed, by the user in a specified region of the personal workspace 981 according to practical needs. Afterwards, the user may use the unified tool to do what he wants to do, for example, to access and control the corresponding unified information unit by way of operations between the unified tool and the unified information unit, such as clicking or dragging.

The specific descriptions of using the unified script as the intermediate language for implementing the workspace and selectively combining unified information unit and unified tool from corresponding information sources into the personal workspace to perform tasks according to practical needs, as mentioned in the embodiments, can also be referred to a co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/325,466, entitled “A method of combining unified matters in personal workspace”, as well as the China Patent Application No. 201410796528.4, which claims the benefit of priority to the U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 14/324,069 and 14/325,466 and is entitled “A method of combining unified matters in a personal workspace and computer product and device using the method”, which are assigned to the same assignee, and will not be redundantly described herein.

The personal workspace mentioned above is just an embodiment of the workspace, and the workspace adapted to be used in the present invention is not limited thereto. For instance, a unified script which is regarded as the intermediate language for implementing the workspace can be edited in advance so as to render a workspace built in a matterizer, information and/or tool. Furthermore, the workspace is not limited to a private workspace, but can be provided for cooperative work among multiple users at the same or different time according to practical needs. Furthermore, the workspace can be projected to any electronic device with computing capability by way of a workspace-projecting method so that a user may use the projected workspace on that electronic device.

In an embodiment, the workspace-projecting method includes acquiring a projectable space instance which is instantiated from a unified script through a URI (uniform resource identifier). The unified script is defined to configure a matterizer, information and/or tool to model a workspace, as described above, and the projectable space instance is used for building a projected workspace corresponding to the workspace to provide an interface for operating the matterizer, information and/or tool. The workspace-projecting method further includes using a projector to parse the projectable space instance and build a working environment to configure the matterizer, information and/or tool, in order to execute the projected workspace. Then the user may interact with the projected workspace.

In the workspace-projecting method, the projector can be acquired from a remote data station, a projectable space instance or a preloaded application program, and loaded to an engine where a compatible working environment is provided for executing the projector. The engine includes, but is not limited to, a JavaScript engine, a Windows application, and/or a Linux application program. Furthermore, the unified script can be declared by a DTD (Document Type Definition), an XML Schema, a structured language or a structured protocol, but is not limited thereto. The projectable space instance can be, but is not limited to, an object, an XML document, or an instance which is instantiated with the structured language or the structured protocol.

Furthermore, the workspace-projecting method will be illustrated in more detail by way of some embodiments. Please refer to FIG. 4, FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B and FIG. 6. FIG. 4 schematically illustrates an initial state before the workspace-projecting method is performed. FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B schematically illustrates the progresses of the workspace-projecting method. FIG. 6 schematically shows the relationship between a projectable space instance as shown in FIG. 4 and a projected workspace as shown in FIG. 5B. As shown in FIG. 6, a first electronic device 971 and a second electronic device 972 can be interconnected to each other, for example, through the internet. Furthermore, the projectable space instance 973 is saved in the first electronic device 971, and a built-in projector 974 is saved in the second electronic device 972.

In this embodiment, a unified script 980 is declared by the DTD (Document Type Definition) for configuring at least one information importer, at least one unified information and/or at least one unified tool to model a workspace. The information importer is an embodiment of the matterizer. Moreover, the projectable space instance 973 is an object which is instantiated with XML. As shown in FIG. 6, the projectable space instance 973 is used for building the projected workspace 976 corresponding to the workspace. Besides, the information importer, the unified information and/or the unified tool is allowed to be added in or removed from the projectable space instance 973. The above-mentioned descriptions will be illustrated in more details as follows.

Furthermore, the projector 974 of the second electronic device 972 will establish a working environment 975 on the second electronic device 972 for executing the projected workspace 976, and the projector 974 provides a microkernel 977 (see FIG. 6) to the working environment 975 for equipping at least one information importer, at least one unified information and/or at least one unified tool which is/are going to be added to the projected workspace 976. When the second electronic device 972 acquires the projectable space instance 973 saved in the first electronic device 971 through a URI, the projector 974 of the second electronic device 972 starts to parse the projectable space instance 973, as shown in FIG. 8A. After the projectable space instance 973 is parsed by the projector 974, the projected workspace 976 is created in the working environment 975 according to parsed contents of the projectable space instance 973, as shown in FIG. 8B. Accordingly, a user of the second electronic device 972 can interact with the projected workspace 976 through the second electronic device 972 to perform related tasks.

The relationships between above mentioned unified script 980, the projectable space instance 973 and the projected workspace 976 will be illustrated in more detailed by way of a practical condition as shown in FIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 7, a workspace which can be projected and is capable of accessing jpg format image files and gif format image files saved in a specified internet space is created for making the image files visible to a user. In this example, the unified script 980 is declared by the Document Type Definition (DTD), and the projectable space instance 973 is instantiated with XML.

Moreover, the information importer and the unified tool will be added into the projectable space instance 973, and the information importer is used to import at least one unified information unit corresponding to original information into the projected workspace 976. In this example, the information importer is a Dropbox importer (the information of the Dropbox importer is exemplified in the dashed line frame 9761 of FIG. 6). The original information are jpg format image file 9791, jpg format image file 9792 and gif format image file 9793 stored in Dropbox 979, and the unified information units are unified jpg format image file 9791′, unified jpg format image file 9792′ and unified gif format image file 9793′. The unified tool is an image viewer (the information of the unified tool is exemplified in the dashed line frame 9762 of FIG. 6) used for accessing image files which are imported into the projected workspace 976.

As mentioned previously, the projected workspace 976 is created after the projectable space instance 973 is parsed by the projector 974 of the second electronic device 972. In this example, the Dropbox importer 9761′ (corresponding to the dashed line frame 9761) and the image viewer 9762′ (corresponding to the dashed line frame 9762) are configured in the projected workspace 976. The Dropbox importer 9761′ unifies and imports the jpg format image file 9791, the jpg format image file 9792 and the gif format image file 9793 from Dropbox 979 into the projected workspace 976. Then the unified jpg format image file 9791′, the unified jpg format image file 9792′ and the unified gif format image file 9793′ corresponding to the jpg format image file 9791, the jpg format image file 9792 and the gif format image file 9793, respectively, are present in the projected workspace 976. When the user of the second electronic device 972 manipulates any of the unified image files 9791′, 9792′ and 9793′ by way of any suitable means, e.g. clicking on the icon representing one of the unified images files 9791′, 9792′ and 9793′, or dragging and dropping the icon representing one of the image files 9791′, 9792′ and 9793′ to the image viewer 9762′, the image viewer 9762′ will access contents of the corresponding unified image file 9791′, 9792′ or 9793′ to present the unified image file 9791′, 9792′ or 9793′ in front of the user. The information importer 9761′ and the image viewer 9762′ mentioned above may be equipped by the microkernel 977.

It is to be noted that the URI of the projectable space instance 973 may be a HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) URI or a FTP (file transfer protocol) URI. When the first electronic device 971 and the second electronic device 972 are integrated into one device, the URI of the projectable space instance 973 can also be a local file URI. The URI of the projectable space instance 973 is not limited to the above-mentioned types. The projectable space instance 973 can be accessed by not only an original editor, but also an authorized user or an authorized electronic device. For instance, the authorized user may, but is not limited to, acquire the projectable space instance 973 through the URI by using an authorized user account and password.

A related art disclosed in patent application Ser. No. 14/577,772, entitled “Method of projecting a workspace and system using the same” and assigned to the same assignee, as well as the China Patent Application No. 201410814138.5, which claims the benefit of priority to the U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 14/324,069, 14/325,466 and 14/577,772 and is entitled “Method of projecting a workspace and system using the same”, are applicable to embodiments of the present invention. The disclosure of the co-pending patent applications are incorporated herein for reference.

It is to be noted that the workspace-projecting method described above is only one of the examples for projecting a workspace to any electronic device with computing capability. Those who are skilled in the art may make variations and modifications to the workspace-projecting method described above depending on practical requirements.

With the utilization of the above-mentioned or other related art, a method of configuring functions of a machine is developed according to the present invention. Hereinafter, the configuring method according to the present invention will be described in more detail by way of embodiments with reference to accompanying drawings.

Please refer to FIG. 7, which is a flowchart illustrating a method of configuring functions of a machine according to the present invention. The configuring method includes: Step P1: dynamically configuring functions of a machine, which comprises: providing an agent to a first machine, thereby receiving a projectable space instance, which is configured in a second machine for creating a workspace and transmitted to the first machine based on a predefined protocol; and Step P2: parsing the projectable space instance with the agent to automatically build a working environment for operating therein a projected workspace corresponding to the workspace created by way of the projectable space instance.

The projectable space instance is configured according to the functions and/or operations of the firs machine expected by the user. The method according to the present invention will be described in mor detail by way of the following examples.

Please refer to FIG. 8, FIG. 9A, FIG. 9B and FIG. 9C, wherein FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram exemplifying an initial state of a configuring system to which a configuring method according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied, and FIGS. 9A-9C are schemes exemplifying sequential operations of the configuring system of FIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 8, the configuring system includes a first machine 1, a second machine 2, a third machine 3 and a fourth machine 4, which are interconnected, for example, via the internet.

For example, the functions of the first machine 1 is to be configured by a user 5. The first machine 1 includes an agent 11. The second machine 2 is the one that the user 5 manipulates, e.g. a computer. The second machine 2 includes a space manager 21. The third machine 3 is a machine where a projectable space instance 31A is saved, e.g. a network attached storage (NAS), and the fourth machine 4 is a machine where a projector 41 is saved.

For setting the functions and/or operational processes of the first machine 1, the user 5 configures the projectable space instance 31A in the third machine 3 by way of the space manager 21 in the second machine 2 according to practical requirements. After configuration of the projectable space instance 31A, a URI (uniform resource identifier) corresponding to the projectable space instance 31A is sent to the first machine 1, as shown in FIG. 9A. Afterwards, the agent 11 in the first machine 1 receives and automatically opens the URI sent by the user 5 from the second machine 2, so as to obtain the projectable space instance 31A from the third machine 3, as described in Step P1 and shown in FIG. 9B.

The agent 11 of the first machine 1 also loads the projector 41 of the fourth machine 4 into the first machine 1. The projector 41 parses the projectable space instance 31A obtained by the first machine 1 and builds a working environment in the first machine 1. After the projectable space instance 31A is parsed by the projector 41, a projected 31B is built in the working environment according to contents of the projectable space instance 31A, as described in Step P2 and shown in FIG. 9C. Accordingly, the first machine 1 can configure functions and/or operational processes that the user 5 requires by way of the projected workspace 31B.

The agent 11 in the first machine 1 can be set to automatically open a URI transmitted to the first machine 1 based on a predefined protocol only. For example, the URI transmitted to the first machine 1 based on the predefined protocol can be, but is not limited to, a HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) URI, a FTP (file transfer protocol) URI or a local file URI.

The above-mentioned descriptions are presented herein for illustration only. It is noted that a variety of modifications and alterations may be made according to the practical requirements. For instance, at least two of the second machine 2, the third machine 3 and the fourth machine 4 may be integrated as a unitary device. That is, at least two of the space manager 21, the projectable space instance 31A and the projector 41 are saved in the same device.

Please refer to FIG. 10, FIG. 11A, FIG. 11B and FIG. 11C, wherein FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram exemplifying an initial state of a configuring system to which a configuring method according to another embodiment of the present invention is applied; and FIGS. 11A-11C are schemes exemplifying sequential operations of the configuring system of FIG. 10. This embodiment is similar to the embodiment of configuring system as described above with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9A-9C except that the first machine 1 includes an agent 11′, which is a projector. Under this circumstance, the configuring system does not need a machine for saving the projector.

Similar to the above embodiment, for setting functions and/or operational processes of the first machine 1, the user 5 configures the projectable space instance 31A in the third machine 3 by way of the space manager 21 of the second machine 2 according to practical requirements. After configuration of the projectable space instance 31A, the URI corresponding to the projectable space instance 31A is sent to the first machine 1, as shown in FIG. 11A. Afterwards, the agent 11′ in the first machine 1 receives and automatically opens the URI sent by the user 5 from the second machine 2, so as to obtain the projectable space instance 31A from the third machine 3, as described in Step P1 and described in FIG. 11B.

Since the agent 11′ itself is a projector, i.e. the projector 41, the agent 11′ can parse the projectable space instance 31A obtained by the first machine 1 and build the working environment in the first machine 1. After the projectable space instance 31A is parsed by the agent 11′, the projected workspace 31B is built in the working environment according to contents of the projectable space instance 31A, as described in Step P2 and shown in FIG. 11C. Accordingly, the first machine 1 can configure functions and/or operational processes that the user 5 requires by way of the projected workspace 31B.

From the above descriptions, the method of dynamically configuring functions of a machine according to the present invention enables the machine to include dynamic functions. A user can configure and set functions of the machine as desired. The present invention can not only make the use of the machine conform to habits and requirements of the user, but also be applicable to a variety of fields, e.g. home appliances, medical facilities and network appliances. As a result, the configuring method and system according to the present invention exhibit great values in industry.

While the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.

Claims

1. A method of dynamically configuring functions of a machine, comprising:

providing an agent to a first machine, thereby receiving a projectable space instance, which is configured in a second machine for creating a workspace and transmitted to the first machine based on a predefined protocol; and

parsing the projectable space instance with the agent to automatically build a working environment for operating therein a projected workspace corresponding to the workspace created by way of the projectable space instance.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the projectable space instance is transmitted to the first machine via a uniform resource identifier (URI) complying with the predefined protocol.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the URI is a HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) URI, a FTP (file transfer protocol) URI, a local file URI, or a combination thereof.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the agent is a projector, which parses the projectable space instance and builds the working environment.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the agent loads a projector into the first machine for parsing the projectable space instance and building the working environment.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the projectable space instance is an object, an XML (extensible markup language) document, or an instance which is instantiated with a structured language or a structured protocol.

7. A system of dynamically configuring functions of a machine, comprising:

a first machine comprising an instance processing unit; and

a second machine configured therein a projectable space instance for creating a workspace;

wherein the instance processing unit receives the projectable space instance from the second machine based on a predefined protocol and parses the projectable space instance to automatically build a working environment for operating therein a projected workspace corresponding to the workspace created by way of the projectable space instance.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the projectable space instance is transmitted to the first machine via a uniform resource identifier (URI) complying with the predefined protocol.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the URI is a HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) URI, a FTP (file transfer protocol) URI, a local file URI, or a combination thereof.

10. The system according to claim 7, wherein the instance processing unit is an agent.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the agent is a projector, which parses the projectable space instance and builds the working environment.

12. The system according to claim 10, wherein the agent loads a projector into the first machine for parsing the projectable space instance and building the working environment.

13. The system according to claim 7, wherein the projectable space instance is an object, an XML (extensible markup language) document, or an instance which is instantiated with a structured language or a structured protocol.

14. The system according to claim 7, wherein the first machine is a home appliance, a medical facility or a network appliance.

15. A machine, comprising:

an instance processing unit for receiving a projectable space instance transmitted to the machine based on a predefined protocol;

wherein an another machine configured therein the projectable space instance for creating a workspace before the projectable space instance is transmitted to the machine; and

wherein the instance processing unit receives the projectable space instance and parses the projectable space instance to automatically build a working environment for operating therein a projected workspace corresponding to the workspace created by way of the projectable space instance.

16. The machine according to claim 15, wherein the projectable space instance is transmitted to the first machine via a uniform resource identifier (URI) complying with the predefined protocol.

17. The machine according to claim 16, wherein the URI is a HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) URI, a FTP (file transfer protocol) URI, a local file URI, or a combination thereof.

18. The machine according to claim 15, wherein the instance processing unit is an agent.

19. The machine according to claim 18, wherein the agent is a projector, which parses the projectable space instance and builds the working environment.

20. The machine according to claim 15, wherein the projectable space instance is an object, an XML (extensible markup language) document, or an instance which is instantiated with a structured language or a structured protocol.