Abstract:
An input device may operate with a variety of different host processor-based systems running a variety of different applications by providing a translation module which translates input commands in one format to a format compatible with one or more applications that may run on a given processor-based system. A table may be provided, for example, in software, which enables a variety of different input device formats to be converted into a variety of formats utilized by an application. In this way, contention between an application and an input device may be resolved.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     This invention relates generally to processing of input commands by processor-based systems. 
     A well defined protocol exists for commands from input devices to processor-based systems. For example, the Universal Serial Bus (USB) Device Class Definition for Human Interface Devices (HID), Firmware Specification, Version 1.1, dated Apr. 7, 1999 (available at www.usb.org) sets forth detailed systems for interfacing input devices with processor-based systems. However, a number of circumstances may arise which render such systems inapplicable. For example, a so-called legacy input device may be provided which does not provide signals in the proper format recognized under a given specification. Alternatively, an application running on a processor-based system may be a legacy application which is not adapted to recognize the particular commands provided by a given input device. 
     Thus, in a number of circumstances, there may be a mismatch between the command set provided by the input device and the command set recognized by a given application. In such cases, a given input device may not be useful with a given processor-based system or a given application may not be useful with a given processor-based system or a given input device. 
     Thus, there is a continuing need for a way to enable more input devices to work with more applications run on processor-based systems. 
     SUMMARY 
     In accordance with one aspect, a method includes receiving on a processor-based system a command from an input device in a first format. The command is translated to a second format compatible with an application on the processor-based system. 
     Other aspects are set forth in the accompanying detailed description and claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic depiction of one embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a flow diagram for software for implementing one embodiment of the present invention; and 
     FIG. 3 is a hardware block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     An input device  10 , shown in FIG. 1, may interface with a host processor-based system  12  through a link  14 . Examples of input devices  10  include keyboards, pointing devices, front panel controls, controls on processor-based devices such as telephones, video cassette recorders, games and simulation devices, sports equipment and appliances, as examples. The link  14  may be a cable such as a USB cable or a wireless link such as an infrared or radio frequency link as examples. The processor-based system  12  may be a desktop computer, a laptop computer, an appliance, a set top box, or any of a variety of other processor-based devices. 
     The input device  10  may provide a signal to the host processor-based system  12  in a first format. The host processor-based system  12  may include applications  26  which process input commands in a second format. For example, the input device  10  may operate in accordance with the HID Firmware Specification, but the application  26  may be a legacy or non-compliant application. Conversely, the application  26  may process commands in accordance with the HID Firmware Specification but the input device  10  may be a legacy device which provides numerical commands non-compliant with that specification. 
     While an example is provided of input devices  10  that are compliant or not compliant with the HID Firmware Specification, the present invention is applicable in a variety of situations where an input device provides commands in one format and an application processes commands in a different format. Similarly, while in one example, the link  14  is a Universal Serial Bus Specification compliant cable, the present invention is not in any way limited to USB embodiments. 
     The input device  10  may provide a signal over the link  14  that is received by interface or receiving hardware  16 . The receiving hardware  16  passes a received command up an input stack, as indicated by the arrow  32 . A translation module  22 , which may be implemented in software or hardware, is responsible for translating the input command from the first format to the second format. 
     The translated command is then made available to the application  26  as indicated by the arrow  36 . The translation module  22  may use a database or tables  24  to translate from one format to another. The available formats may be numerous and the conversions between these formats may be equally numerous. Therefore, tables  24  may provide information about how to convert from one a variety of formats to one of another variety of formats. 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, the input device  10  is a remote control unit and the host processor-based system  12  may be a set top processor-based system. In such case, the link  14  may be a bidirectional infrared link and the receiving hardware  16  may be an infrared interface device. In this case, a legacy input device  10  may provide numerical commands while HID Firmware Specification compliant codes may be used by the application  26 . 
     The ability to dynamically change the RCU commands to keystroke combinations may be useful, for example, when modifying an application&#39;s behavior. For example, an application may be designed to run full screen as the sole application. However, there may be times when more than one application may be active on a given display. In order to have these applications coexist when they share the screen as well as to allow these applications to be controlled by the same RCU, functionality can be limited during the times that the applications share focus. In order to facilitate this limiting of functionality, inputs may be masked, allowing an application&#39;s behavior to be modified without having to change the state of the application. For example, the input commands may be masked in the translation module  22  at various times. 
     In addition, the RCU functionality may be remapped on different applications without modifying a previously functional application. For example, a web browser may have accelerator keys for its navigation functions. The client application may support the web browser when the web browser takes focus, by modifying the RCU commands to keystroke combinations that reflect the accelerator keys on the web browser&#39;s user interface. Thus, differences between input device and application can be handled externally to the application and the input device. 
     Turing now to FIG. 2, in an embodiment in which the translation module  22  is implemented in software  28 , input device specific commands may be received as indicated in block  30 . In one embodiment of the present invention, legacy and numerical commands from an input device  10  may be received by the host processor-based system  12 . These commands are then provided, as indicated in block  32 , to the translation module  22 . The translation module  22  maps the commands received from the input device  10  to keystrokes in accordance with the protocol utilized by a particular application, as indicated in block  34 . 
     The translated commands may then be provided to the application  26  as indicated in block  36 . The application  26  then processes the commands, as indicated in block  38 , without modification of the application. 
     Referring next to FIG. 3, a host processor-based system  12  may include a wireless link  14  with a remote control unit acting as the input device  10 . The system  12  may include a processor  40  coupled to an interface  42  such as a bridge or a chipset. The interface  42  may, for example, couple a system memory  44  and a bus  46 . The bus  46  in turn may be coupled to another interface  48  which also may be a bridge or part of a chipset. The interface  48  may in turn be coupled to a hard disk drive  50  or other storage medium, such as floppy drive, a compact disk drive, a digital versatile disk drive, a flash memory or the like. The module  22 , if implemented in software, the tables  24 , the software  28  and the application  26  may be stored on the hard disk drive  50  in one embodiment of the present invention. 
     A second bus  52  may be coupled to an airwave interface operating as the receiving hardware  16 . The hardware  16  may receive signals from the input device  10  and may convert those signals into a form compatible with the processor-based system  12 . 
     The input device  10  may be conventional in many respects and may include a wireless interface  58  which is coupled to a key code generating controller  60 . The controller  60  in turn may be coupled to a storage  62  that may store operating protocols for the input device  10 . In one embodiment of the present invention, the input device  10  may be battery powered. 
     While the present invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate numerous modifications and variations therefrom. It is intended that the appended claims cover all such modifications and variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of this present invention.