Abstract:
A system comprises a personal computer (PC) and a handheld media device (HMD) communicably coupled to the PC. The PC transfers status information to the HMD and the HMD displays the status information. The HMD is capable of displaying the status information using at least one of graphics or text. The status information includes information pertaining to the status the PC.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    A computer system generally comprises a main display by which a user of the system is provided with visual information. For example, the display may be used for various multimedia applications (e.g., to watch movies, play games), for word processing applications (e.g., to read text), etc. In some cases, the user may desire to view additional information beyond what is already displayed on the display. However, the user may want to refrain from disturbing the information already displayed on the display. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0002]    For a detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0003]      FIGS. 1   a - 1   c  show illustrative systems implementing the device disclosed herein, in accordance with various embodiments; 
           [0004]      FIGS. 2   a - 2   c  show detailed views of the device of  FIGS. 1   a - 1   c,  in accordance with various embodiments; 
           [0005]      FIG. 2   d  shows an illustrative, detailed view of the systems of  FIGS. 1   a - 1   c,  in accordance with various embodiments; and 
           [0006]      FIG. 3  shows a flow diagram of an illustrative method implemented in accordance with various embodiments. 
       
    
    
     NOTATION AND NOMENCLATURE 
       [0007]    Certain terms are used throughout the following description and claims to refer to particular system components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, companies may refer to a component by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function. In the following discussion and in the claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to . . . .” Also, the term “couple” or “couples” is intended to mean either an indirect, direct, optical or wireless electrical connection. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct electrical connection, through an indirect electrical connection via other devices and connections, through an optical electrical connection, or through a wireless electrical connection. A “handheld” device is a device that may be held in a user&#39;s hand during use. A “personal computer” is any computer suitable for personal use, such as a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, etc. In some embodiments, a personal computer may be a handheld device. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0008]    The following discussion is directed to various embodiments of the invention. Although one or more of these embodiments may be preferred, the embodiments disclosed should not be interpreted, or otherwise used, as limiting the scope of the disclosure, including the claims. In addition, one skilled in the art will understand that the following description has broad application, and the discussion of any embodiment is meant only to be exemplary of that embodiment, and not intended to intimate that the scope of the disclosure, including the claims, is limited to that embodiment. 
         [0009]    Disclosed herein are various embodiments of a portable display device (PDD) (e.g., a handheld media device) usable to display information associated with a separate computer system.  FIG. 1   a  shows an illustrative computer system (e.g., personal computer (PC))  100 . The computer system  100  comprises a chassis (e.g., mini-tower)  102  that houses various hardware, including processors, memory, etc. The chassis  102  couples to a display  104  (e.g., a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), Cathode Ray Tube (CRT),  12 ″ and larger) and input devices such as a keyboard  106  and a mouse  108 .  FIG. 1   a  also shows an illustrative PDD  110  removably coupled to the chassis  102 . The PDD  110  couples to the chassis  102  by way of any suitable mechanism, such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection, described below. In accordance with various embodiments, when the display  104  is displaying information and a user of the system  100  desires to view information pertaining to the system  100  without disturbing the information being displayed on the display  104 , logic inside the chassis  102  may transfer the desired information to the PDD  110  for display. In turn, the PDD  110  may receives and displays the desired information. For example, a user may be playing a video game on the computer system  100 . It would be helpful to the user to know information about the system  100  during game play, such as memory consumption information, processor performance information, temperature, processor utilization rate, etc. However, the user may wish to obtain such information without disturbing gameplay. In such cases, logic inside the chassis  102  may automatically transfer this information to the PDD  110  for display. Thus, the user is able to view the desired information on the PDD  110  without disturbing gameplay on the display  104 . The information may be displayed on the PDD  110  even if there is no information being displayed on the display  104 , or if there is no information on the display  104  that cannot be disturbed. 
         [0010]    As explained above, the PDD  110  may couple to the chassis  102  via a USB connection. In some embodiments and as shown in  FIG. 1   a , this connection is a blind-mating connection, whereby a user inserts the PDD  110  into a cavity  109  in the chassis  102  such that a USB connector (shown in  FIG. 2   b ) on the PDD  110  couples (blind-mates) to another USB connector on the chassis  102 . In this way, the PDD  110  is housed within the cavity so that the surface of the PDD  110  having the display is flush or is substantially flush (e.g., within 2 cm) with the surface  101  of the chassis  102 . In at least some embodiments, the chassis  102  comprises a sliding cover (not specifically shown) that can mask or hide the cavity  109  when the PDD  110  is not coupled to the chassis  102  or, in some cases, even if the PDD  110  is coupled to the chassis  102 . In some embodiments, the connection between the PDD  110  and the chassis  102  is a wired connection, such as that shown in  FIG. 1   b.    FIG. 1   b  shows the system  100  of  FIG. 1   a,  except that the PDD  110  couples to the chassis  102  not through a blind-mating connection, but via a USB cable  111 . 
         [0011]    In addition to the blind-mating and wired connections shown in  FIGS. 1   a  and  1   b,  other types of connections also may be possible. For example, as shown in  FIG. 1   c,  a computer system  200  (e.g., a notebook or laptop computer) comprising a display  202 , keyboard  204  and wireless card  206  may wirelessly communicate with the PDD  110  via an antenna  208 . In some embodiments, the antenna  208  is retractable, meaning that the antenna  208  may be fully housed within the chassis of the PDD  110  when not being used. Any suitable wireless communication protocol, such as the BLUETOOTH® protocol, IEEE® 802.xx protocol, etc. may be used. 
         [0012]    Although the PDD  110  and the chassis  102  are shown as being physically connected in  FIGS. 1   a - 1   b,  in some embodiments, the chassis  102  and the PDD  110  may communicate wirelessly, as illustrated in  FIG. 1   c . Similarly, although the PDD  110  and the computer system  200  are shown to be communicating wirelessly in  FIG. 1   c , in some embodiments, the PDD  110  and the computer system  200  may be physically connected (e.g., blind-mating, USB cables). In at least some embodiments, the PDD  110  is “hot-pluggable” to computer systems. 
         [0013]      FIG. 2   a  shows a detailed view of an illustrative PDD  110 . Besides the antenna  208 , the PDD  110  comprises a display  210  (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD)), an input panel  212 , a speaker  213 , a data connector  214 , an audio jack  216 , a stand  218  and a power jack  228 . The display  210  may be of any suitable size, although in some embodiments, the display size ranges between 2.5 inches and 3.5 inches. In any case, the display  210  is significantly smaller than (e.g., less than 1/10 the size of) the displays  104  and  202 . The input panel  212  comprises various input mechanisms (e.g., keys/buttons, scroll bars, scroll wheels, sliders, touch-sensitive devices, light-sensitive devices) by which a user of the PDD  110  may interact with the PDD  110 . The data connector  214  supports wired connections (e.g., USB connections) to other electronic devices (e.g., a computer system). The audio jack  216  may couple to a pair of headphones (e.g., to output music). The power jack  228  couples to a power source, such as a wall outlet, whereby a battery housed within the PDD  110  may be recharged. The stand  218  enables the PDD  110  to stand upright or at an angle when the PDD  110  is placed on a surface, such as a desk. 
         [0014]    In some embodiments, the data connector  214  may be in a different location than that shown in  FIG. 2   a . For example, as explained above, the PDD  110  may be blind-mated to a computer system. To facilitate such blind-mating, in some embodiments, the data connector  214  is located on a rear surface  220  of the PDD  110 , as shown in  FIG. 2   b . In this way, the PDD  110  may be blind-mated to a complementary connector on a computer system, as described above in reference to  FIG. 1   a.    
         [0015]      FIG. 2   c  shows a block diagram of circuit logic housed within the PDD  110 . The PDD  110  comprises processing logic  222  and an inverter  224  and a backlight  226  that are used to assist the display  210  in displaying images. The PDD  110  also comprises the input panel  212  having buttons  230 , slider  232  and wheel  234  (although in some embodiments, the input panel  212  has fewer or more input devices, or has different input devices). The PDD  110  further comprises wireless communication logic  236  (e.g., BLUETOOTH® logic), the antenna  208 , random access memory (RAM)  238 , a battery  240  coupled to a charge control device  242  and the power jack  228  (e.g., direct current (DC) input), read-only memory (ROM)  244  (e.g., flash ROM) comprising content  246  (e.g., music, MP3 files, photos, videos) and software  248 , the data connector  214 , the speaker  213  and the audio jack  216 . Other logic also may be included. 
         [0016]    In operation, the processing logic  222  receives information from various sources and outputs information accordingly. For example, still referring to  FIG. 2   c , the processing logic  222  may receive information from another electronic device (e.g., a computer system) via the data connector  214  or the antenna  208  and wireless communication logic  236 . In turn, the processing logic  222  may output the information to the display  210 , to the audio jack  216  or to the speaker  213 . The processing logic  222  also may store the information to the RAM  238  or to other storage not specifically shown. The processing logic  222  also may receive information from the input panel  212 . For example, a user of the PDD  110  may use the input panel and the display  210  to select a music file, photo, etc. of content  246  in the ROM  244  to be played or displayed. Accordingly, the processing logic  222  retrieves the selected content  246  from the ROM  244  and outputs the content as necessary (e.g., plays the music via audio jack  216  and/or speaker  213 , display the photo on the display  210 ). Thus, the PDD  110  may be considered to be a portable, digital, multimedia device. The processing logic  222  also may obtain information from the ROM  244  or RAM  238  and transfer the information to another electronic device via the data connector  214  or the wireless communication logic  236 , or may receive information from the data connector  214  or the wireless communication logic  236  and may store the received information to the RAM  238  or other suitable storage. Further, in some embodiments, information received from the data connector  214  and/or the wireless communication logic  236  may be routed directly to the display  210  for display and/or to the audio jack  216  or speaker  213  for audible output. 
         [0017]      FIG. 2   d  shows an illustrative block diagram of circuit logic  250  housed within the chassis  102  ( FIGS. 1   a - 1   b ) or within the computer system  200  ( FIG. 1   c ). The circuit logic  250  comprises processing logic  252 , ROM  256  comprising software  258 , RAM  260 , wireless communication logic  262  coupled to an antenna  264  and input/output (I/O) ports  266 . 
         [0018]    Referring to both  FIGS. 2   c  and  2   d , a user may be using the computer system (e.g., computer system  100  or  200 ) such that the user does not want to disturb whatever information is being displayed on the computer system&#39;s display (e.g., display  104  or  202 ). However, the user still may want to see other information selected from categories such as central processing unit (CPU) utilization, CPU temperature, graphics processor utilization, graphics processor temperature, memory utilization, disk capacity remaining, network throughput, etc. Accordingly, the processing logic  252  may execute the software  258  (e.g., upon the click of a mouse or a key on a keypad, upon the execution of a predetermined application such as a video game, upon boot-up). Execution of the software  258  may cause the processing logic  252  to collect desired information from the computer system. The desired categories of information, such as the categories listed above, may be predetermined by the user and may be preprogrammed into the RAM  260 , the RAM  238 , or other suitable storage. The user also may specify how the user wishes to see the information displayed (e.g., graphics, text, both). The user may preprogram this information using, for example, the software application  258 , the software  248  or some other suitable utility. In this way, the software  258  and processing logic  252  “know” what kind of information the user desires to see on the PDD  110  and how the user desires to see it. Upon collecting the desired information from various components of the computer system (e.g., internal software status tables stored in memory or internal hardware registers), the software  258  causes the processing logic  252  to transfer the information to the PDD  110 . The information may be transmitted wirelessly (e.g., using the wireless communication logic  262 ) or via a physical connection (e.g., via I/O  266 ), such as a USB connection. 
         [0019]    In turn, the processing logic  222  of the PDD  110  executes software  248  which causes the processing logic  222  to receive the information from the computer system via the wireless communication logic  236  or the data connector  214 . Upon receiving the desired information, the processing logic  222  displays the information on the display  210 . The display of information may be in any suitable format, such as text, graphics (e.g., graphics, charts, meters) or a combination thereof. Alternatively, or in addition, the processing logic  222  may store the desired information on the RAM  238 , may play the desired information in audible form via the audio jack  216  or speaker  213 , and/or may transfer the information to another electronic device via the wireless communication logic  236  or the data connector  214 . In this way, the user is able to view the desired information on the PDD  110  without disturbing the information being displayed on the computer system display. 
         [0020]    Information transferred to the PDD  110  may be displayed in any suitable format, such as graphics, text or both. For example, the PDD  110  may receive a number indicating the temperature of a processor in the chassis  102 . The PDD  110  may display the number itself or may display a graphical depiction of the number (e.g., on a chart, graph, meter). Further, the PDD  110  may be preprogrammed with, or may receive with the number, a threshold value against which the number should be compared. If the number meets or exceeds the threshold value, an alert may sound on the PDD  110 . For example, if a processor temperature is 80 degrees and the threshold temperature is 75 degrees, the PDD  110  may sound an audible alarm or may display an alert in the form of flashing lights, specific graphics, etc. 
         [0021]    In at least some embodiments, the desired information is displayed on the PDD  110  using the MICROSOFT® VISTA® operating system and, in particular, using the SIDESHOW® and/or GADGETS® features. This technique, as described below, is advantageous at least because it provides a parallel information processing path to present diagnostic or information data to the end-user. Thus, if the VISTA® operating system fails, the PDD  110  is still able to present the data to the end-user. 
         [0022]    For example, in operation, the software application  258  in  FIG. 2   d  may comprise an operating system (such as the MICROSOFT® VISTA® operating system) or at least may comprise software running under such an operating system. The software application  258  gathers the required information/parameters from internal software status tables (e.g., that can be stored in ROM  256  or RAM  260 ) or hardware registers (not shown). The software  258  then sends this information to the PDD  110 . In turn, the POD  110  formats and presents the information to the end-user using, e.g., the software  248 . 
         [0023]    Other information paths, such as the Enthusiast System Architecture (ESA), also may be used. The ESA is a universal serial bus (USB)-based network internal to the chassis  102  of  FIGS. 1 and 2  or the computer  200  of  FIG. 3 . The ESA couples to components such as power supplies, liquid cooling systems, fan controllers, lighting controllers, etc. Through the ESA, the processor  252  may collect additional information such as the power supply output voltage levels, current, or temperature or the liquid cooling system&#39;s coolant temperature, etc. The scope of this disclosure encompasses any and all such variations. 
         [0024]      FIG. 3  shows a flow diagram of an illustrative method  300  implemented in accordance with various embodiments. The method  300  comprises executing an application on a computer system (block  302 ). The method  300  also comprises collecting desired information on the computer system (block  304 ). The method  300  then comprises transferring the data to the PDD (block  306 ). The method  300  further comprises receiving the data from the computer system (block  308 ) and executing an application on the PDD that causes the PDD to display the desired information (block  310 ). 
         [0025]    In some embodiments, the PDD  110  does not comprise a cell phone, although in some embodiments, the PDD  110  may comprise a cell phone. In some embodiments, the PDD  110  does not comprise a personal digital assistant (PDA), although in some embodiments, the PDD  110  may comprise a PDA. In some embodiments, the PDD  110  does not comprise an APPLE® iPOD®, although in some embodiments, the PDD  110  may comprise an APPLE® iPOD®. 
         [0026]    The above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the principles and various embodiments of the present invention. Numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications.