Peripheral protocol negotiation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9547615-B2
Application number	US-201113977822-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 1, 2011
Priority date	Oct 1, 2011
Publication date	Jan 17, 2017
Grant date	Jan 17, 2017

Abstract

Systems and methods of operating a computing system may involve utilizing at least one of a peripheral protocol negotiation and a universal connector to determine a peripheral device protocol, and reconfiguring a computer device to accommodate that peripheral device protocol. Upon such a reconfiguration, the peripheral protocol negotiation may “step aside”, and one or more subsequent communications between a host computer and the peripheral device utilizing the peripheral device protocol may start.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method comprising:
detecting a coupling of a peripheral device to a host device, wherein the peripheral device includes a device port coupled to the host device through a port of a universal connector having a plurality of contacts supporting at least a DisplayPort protocol;
implementing a peripheral protocol negotiation using the universal connector, including:
transmitting a query communication including a query of a peripheral device protocol;
transmitting a return communication indicating the peripheral device protocol;
reconfiguring the host device to accommodate the peripheral device protocol using a multiplexer of the universal connector; and
directing the peripheral protocol negotiation to step aside; and

using the peripheral device protocol to conduct one or more subsequent communications between the peripheral device and the host device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of contacts are reconfigured from a current configuration to a configuration of the peripheral device protocol.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the peripheral protocol negotiation further includes suspending normal operation of the peripheral device and the host device.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein a peripheral device protocol driver remains unmodified by the peripheral protocol negotiation, and the peripheral device executes according to the peripheral device protocol driver after the peripheral protocol negotiation steps aside.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the host device and the peripheral device are unaware of the implementation of the peripheral protocol negotiation prior to the peripheral protocol negotiation stepping aside.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the peripheral protocol negotiation executes without regard to the peripheral device protocol.

7. The method of claim 1 , further including detecting a coupling of a dongle to the host device and to the peripheral device to implement the peripheral protocol negotiation.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein detection of the coupling of the peripheral device is a result of at least one of a start-up of the host device, a reboot of the host device, and a plug-in of the peripheral device to the host device.

9. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising a set of instructions which, if executed by a processor, cause a computer to:
detect a coupling of a peripheral device to a host device, wherein the peripheral device is to include a device port coupled to the host device through a port of a universal connector having a plurality of contacts supporting at least a DisplayPort protocol;
using the universal connector,
transmit a query communication including a query of a peripheral device protocol;
receive a return communication indicating the peripheral device protocol;
reconfigure the host device to accommodate the peripheral device protocol using a multiplexer of the universal connector; and

use the peripheral device protocol to conduct one or more subsequent communications between the peripheral device and the host device.

10. The medium of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of contacts are to be reconfigured from a current configuration to a configuration of the peripheral device protocol.

11. The medium of claim 9 , wherein a peripheral device protocol driver is to remain unmodified, and the peripheral device is to execute according to the peripheral device protocol driver after the peripheral protocol negotiation steps aside.

12. The medium of claim 9 , wherein, if executed, the set of instructions cause a computer to detect a coupling of a dongle to the host device and to the peripheral device.

13. The medium of claim 9 , wherein the detection of the coupling of the peripheral device is a result of at least one of a start-up of the host device, a reboot of the host device, and a plug-in of the peripheral device to the host device.

14. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising a set of instructions which, if executed by a processor, cause a computer to:
receive, at a peripheral device coupled to the computer, a query communication including a query of a peripheral device protocol, wherein the peripheral device is to include a device port coupled to the computer through a port of a universal connector having a plurality of contacts supporting at least a DisplayPort protocol;
use the universal connector to
transmit a return communication indicating the peripheral device protocol;
reconfigure the computer to accommodate the peripheral device protocol using a multiplexer of the universal connector; and
initiate one or more subsequent communications with a host device utilizing the peripheral device protocol.

15. The medium of claim 14 , wherein, if executed, the set of instructions receive the query communication, transmit the return communication and initiate one or more subsequent communications with the host device without modification to a peripheral device protocol driver.

16. The medium of claim 14 , wherein, if executed, the set of instructions cause a computer to suspend normal operation of the peripheral device.

17. The medium of claim 14 , wherein, if executed, the set of instructions receive the query communication, transmit the return communication and initiate of the one or more subsequent communications with the host device execute without regard to the peripheral device protocol.

18. An apparatus comprising:
a universal connector comprising a plurality of contacts to support at least a DisplayPort protocol;
a physical layer coupled to the plurality of contacts; and
logic to,
detect a coupling of a peripheral device to a host device;
transmit a query communication including a query of a peripheral device protocol;
receive a return communication indicating the peripheral device protocol;
reconfigure the host device to accommodate the peripheral device protocol conducted by a multiplexer of the universal connector; and
initiate one or more subsequent communications with the peripheral device utilizing the peripheral device protocol.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the plurality of contacts are to be reconfigured from a current configuration to a configuration of the peripheral device protocol.

20. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein a peripheral device protocol driver remains unmodified, and the peripheral device is to execute according to the peripheral device protocol driver after the peripheral protocol negotiation steps aside.

21. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the logic is to detect a coupling of a dongle to the host device and to the peripheral device.

22. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the detection of the coupling of the peripheral device is a result of one of a start-up of the host device, a reboot of the host device, and a plug-in of the peripheral device to the host device.

23. A system comprising:
a processor;
a memory;
a connecting bus; and
a universal connector apparatus including:
a plurality of contacts;
a physical layer coupled to the plurality of contacts to support at least a DisplayPort protocol; and
logic to,
detect a coupling of a peripheral device to a host device;
transmit a query communication including a query of a peripheral device protocol;
receive a return communication indicating the peripheral device protocol;
reconfigure the host device to accommodate the peripheral device protocol conducted by a multiplexer of the universal connector; and

Assignees

• Bell Dennis M
• Pawlowski Stephen S
• Intel Corp

Inventors

• Bell Dennis M
• Pawlowski Stephen S

Classifications

• G06F13/387 Primary

  for adaptation of different data processing systems to different peripheral devices, e.g. protocol converters for incompatible systems, open system · CPC title

• G06F13/4221

  being an input/output bus, e.g. ISA bus, EISA bus, PCI bus, SCSI bus · CPC title

• G06F13/14

  Handling requests for interconnection or transfer · CPC title

• G06F13/38

  Information transfer, e.g. on bus (G06F13/14 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06F9/4413

  Plug-and-play [PnP] · CPC title