Patent Publication Number: US-2011050577-A1

Title: Wireless peripheral device and production matching system thereof

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to a wireless peripheral device, more particularly, to the wireless peripheral device with low cost and without any matching procedure, and its relevant production matching system. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     With accelerating development of science, the wireless communication technology is widespread and applicable to the human daily life. To the computer peripherals, such as keyboard, computer mouse, presentation pointer, and gaming control device, most of them are utilizing the wireless communication technology to process the data transmission with the computer system. Those applications are placing emphasis on the advantages of reducing occupied space, and increasing convenience. 
     The wireless peripheral device is designed to have a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter is a wireless operating device provided to a user&#39;s operation, and the receiver is essentially a Dongle for connecting to a computer system. This wireless receiver can be a receiver with USB used for connecting with the computer system via USB. Thereby, the wireless operating device and the wireless receiver are wirelessly communicated. In order to keep normal operation to the wireless communication, a matching procedure should be incorporated between the wireless operating device and the wireless receiver. Through this matching procedure, the wireless operating device and the receiver can have an identical identification code (ID) for successfully processing the wireless communication there-between. 
     In hardware design, an extra electronic programmable EEPROM is designed for the wireless operating device and the receiver. The EEPROM in the wireless operating device is used to store a pre-given identification code, which is provided for the matching procedure to be accessed by the wireless receiver. Therefore, the wireless operating device and the wireless receiver can process the wireless communication based on the identification code stored in each EEPROM. 
     In practical operation, while a user initially connects the wireless receiver to the computer system and switches on the wireless operating device, two link buttons set on both the wireless operating device and the receiver need to be pressed (activated) for processing the matching procedure. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of foregoing shortcoming to be solved, one object of the present invention is to provide a technical improvement to reduce the substantial elements of a wireless peripheral device. An identification code matching procedure between an operating main body and a receiver of the wireless peripheral device is accomplished before factory shipment. Therefore, when a user is manipulating the wireless peripheral device, the wireless communication between the body and the receiver is automatically processed according to the matched identification code. 
     According to one aspect of the invention, a production matching system of the wireless peripheral device is particularly provided, comprising a wireless peripheral device, and a reader. The wireless peripheral device further includes an operating main body and a receiver as described above. This operating main body includes a controlling unit having a built-in identification code. The identification code is stored in a non-volatile memory of the controlling unit. The receiver is connected to the computer system. 
     Further, the reader is connected with the computer system and the operating main body to read the identification code of the controlling unit. The recognized identification code is then transferred to the computer system. Next, a programming procedure is performed after the computer system receives the identification code, and the procedure is used to program the identification code into the receiver. After that, the identification code corresponding to the operating main body can be stored in the receiver. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, the claimed wireless peripheral device includes an operating main body and a receiver. The operating main body includes a controlling unit with a built-in identification code. The identification code is stored in the non-volatile memory therein. The receiver stores the identification code in accordance with the operating main body. The operating main and the receiver will be wirelessly inter-communicated based on the identification code whenever the receiver is powered-up by connecting to the computer system. 
     The achievements of the present invention are to effectively reduce the cost of the wireless peripheral device, and also to simplify user&#39;s pre-operation procedure before manipulating the wireless peripheral device. Furthermore, the invention can minimize the possibility of disorder or nonfunctional identification code under interference when the wireless peripheral device is in use since the identical identification code of both operating main body and receiver is matched before factory shipment. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be more readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  shows a block diagram of a wireless peripheral device of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2A  shows a circuit diagram of an operating main body of a pointing device of the wireless peripheral device in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2B  shows a circuit diagram of a receiver of the wireless peripheral device according to the present invention; and 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a production matching system of the wireless peripheral device according to the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Disclosed here for the present invention is a wireless peripheral device, which stores an identification code with a controlling chip in each of its operating main body and receiver. Further, a matching procedure of the identification code between the operating main body and the receiver is processed before factory shipment. Therefore, the matched identification code is used for automatically processing wireless communication between the body and the receiver as a user is manipulating the wireless peripheral device in practice. Therefore, the user will not be required to utilize any link button to process the matching procedure beforehand since the matching procedure is accomplished before factory shipment. Moreover, neither the operating main body nor the receiver needs any link button and extra memory to store the identification code. 
     Further benefits arise through the fact that the present invention does not limit overall function or the embodiment to being simply a single operating main body matching one receiver. Many various types of the products relating to the wireless peripheral devices are encompassed within the scope of this invention which is defined completely solely within the claims found here later in this description. Packaged products relating to the wireless peripheral devices include a plurality of operating main bodies, such as keyboard, pointing device, presentation pointer, and gaming control device, and a corresponding receiver. In other words, a receiver can simultaneously and wirelessly connect with several operating main bodies. Therefore, a user may utilize various operating main bodies to manipulate the computer system. For the sake of convenience, the following description is embodied through one operating main body which corresponds to one receiver, and the operating main body is recognized in a manner such as pointing devices including the likes of a computer mouse or other functional equivalents. 
     Furthermore, the skilled person in the area of art which encompasses the present invention will be capable of understanding that currently prevalent wireless peripheral devices are most generally categorized into three frequency bands which are 27 MHz, 2.4 GHz, and Bluetooth. Taking into consideration of communication distance, interference, and cost, the frequency band 2.4 GHz is adopted by most manufacturers. The band 2.4 GHz is used in the following embodiment to be the wireless communication band between the operating main body and the receiver. 
     Reference is made to  FIG. 1  showing a block diagram of the wireless peripheral device of one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the diagram, the wireless peripheral device  1  in this embodiment is adapted to a computer system  2 . The device  1  has an operating main body  11  and a receiver  12 . The operating main body  11  includes a controlling unit  111  with a built-in identification code. The receiver  12  pre-stores the identification code of the corresponding operating main body  11 . When the receiver  12  connects to the computer system  2  for receiving the power supplied by the computer system  2 , the operating main body  11  and the receiver  12  are wirelessly communicated in accordance with the identification code. 
     According to the design of the device, the controlling unit  11  has a built-in non-volatile memory  1110  such as ROM, and another volatile memory (not shown) such as RAM for buffering the data as the controlling unit  111  is under operation. The firmware accompanied with the controlling unit  111  is pre-programmed into the controlling unit  111  as production. Particularly, the current embodiment incorporates this programming procedure in programming the identification code into the non-volatile memory  1110 , and makes the controlling unit  111  have built in the identification code. Therefore, the operating main body  11  does not need any extra EEPROM for the controlling unit  111  to store the code. 
     On the other hand regarding the receiver  12 , the identification code is programmed into the receiver  12  as reading the identification code corresponding to the operating main body  11  during the production stage. After that, the receiver  12  can preset the identification code of the operating main body  11 , and the matching procedure between the operating main body  11  and the receiver  12  is accomplished before factory shipment. The detailed description of the mentioned reading and programming steps in the production stage can refer to the following disclosure. 
     The identification code built in the controlling unit  111  can be generated within a certain coding range in accordance with a sequential and progressive manner or set of parameters. Some other ways are also applicable, such as to be a randomly generated number. The major purpose is to make sure that every controlling unit  111  has a unique identification code in order to prevent any interference when two or more wireless peripheral devices are simultaneously operating. 
     As an example of the present invention, one operating main body  11  to match another one receiver  12  is provided in this embodiment. It is noted that singular identification code is used to accomplish the coding. However, if multiple operating main bodies  11  are companied with one receiver  12 , their built-in identification codes are designed for various types in order to distinguish the different bodies  11 . The receiver  12  is separately programmed with the identification codes of the different operating main bodies  11  during production so as to be successfully matched with each of the operating main bodies  11 . 
     Besides the above-described way to generate the identification code for preventing any conflict between different main bodies and receivers, the other one scheme is further provided. This scheme is to build multiple frequency channels in the controlling unit  111  for preventing the interference caused by the external signals, such as the WLAN signal. The interference may make the operations of the operating main body  11  and receiver  12  unstable. For example, the wireless transmission is processed under the frequency band 2.4 GHz in the current embodiment, and then there are 78 sections of applicable channels between 2402 MHz and 2479 MHz. 
     The mentioned multiple frequency channels are selected from the 78 sections and built in the controlling unit  111 . For example, the channels built in the controlling unit  111  include those selected from every relative high, middle and low frequency sections between 2402 MHz and 2479 MHz. Thus the controlling unit  111  of the operating main body  11  will perform a frequency-hopping process when the user manipulates the wireless peripheral device  1 . Based on the built-in identification code, one of the built-in frequency channels is used to wirelessly communication with the receiver. The built-in scheme can prevent the interference caused by the ambient signals with similar frequency when the peripheral device  1  is in use. 
     The provided frequency-hopping process will firstly select one preset channel to carry out the wireless communication, but the frequency-hopping process is performed as the frequency interference happens. That is, one other channel is then selected to take over the wireless communication. Alternatively, one channel, which is randomly selected, is used to perform the wireless communication in the beginning. When the channel is interfered, the frequency-hopping process is performed. It is noted that there is no further restriction with regard to the design of frequency-hopping technology in the present invention. 
     Reference is made to the first type of frequency-hopping process. A user is using the wireless peripheral device  1  and the preset identification code of the device  1  is “01”. Furthermore, in the controlling unit  111  of the wireless peripheral device  1 , the built-in frequency channels are around 2402 MHz, 2445 MHz and 2478 MHz, and the band 2402 MHz is a preset channel. In the meantime, if any stronger interference signal around 2402 MHz happens nearby, the wireless peripheral device  1  used by the user may be unstable or not functioned. In view of the event, the controlling unit  111  of the operating main body  11  of the wireless communication device  1  in the present invention performs the frequency-hopping process for selecting other built-in channel, such as band 2446 MHz or 2479 MHz. Therefore, the operating main body  11  can successfully continue to communicate with the receiver  12 . 
     Reference is again made to  FIG. 1 , which illustrates the operating main body  11  of the pointing device matching with the receiver. The embodiment can further refer to the  FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 2B , which are the circuit blocks depicting the operating main body of the pointing device of the wireless peripheral device and the receiver respectively. 
     The operating main body  11 , besides the controlling unit  111 , further includes a first radio-frequency circuit  112 , an operating module  113 , a power management unit  114 , a switching element  115 , a sensing module  116 , and an encoder  117 . The first radio-frequency circuit  112  is the radio-frequency circuit designed with 2.4 GHz, which is electrically connected to the controlling unit  111 . The first radio-frequency circuit  112 , which preferably operates at band 2.4 GHz, is wirelessly connected with the receiver  12  and electrically connected to the controlling unit  111  for signaling between the controlling unit  111  and the receiver  12 . 
     The operating module  113  is electrically connected with the controlling unit  111 . The module  113  is further equipped with a plurality of operating keys (not shown) for users&#39; keystroke. If any operating key is triggered as any user&#39; keystroke is received, a functional signal will be generated and forwarded to the controlling unit  111  in order to acquire the pressed operating key Since the current embodiment is depicting the operating main body of the pointing device,  FIG. 2A  shows the circuitry of operating keys of the common pointing device. However the shown quantity and provided function of the operating keys are in accordance with the design of the operating main body  11  in practice, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. For example, if the operating main body  11  indicates the body of a keyboard, the operating keys of the operating module  113  are the keys equipped on the keyboard. 
     It is featured that the operating module  113  of the current embodiment does not need any link key according to the present invention. 
     Furthermore, the power management unit  114  provides the power supplied for the operation of the operating main body  11 . As shown in  FIG. 2A , the power management unit  114  further includes a charging battery (BAT), a voltage transforming unit (U 5 ), a voltage detecting unit (U 6 ), a charging unit (U 7 ) and the peripheral circuit elements. The related operating principle and function can be understood by the ordinary skilled person in the art, and thus the details will not be given. 
     The switching element  115  is electrically connected to the power management unit  114 . The switching element  115  is one type of the mechanical components, and it is provided for the user to process switching for generating a switching signal. This signal is particularly used to control on/off status of the power management unit  114 . That is, when the user uses the wireless peripheral device  1 , the switching element  115  is switched on so that the power management unit  114  can supply power to the whole operating main body  11 . When the user does not use the wireless peripheral device  1 , the switching element  115  is switched off, and the power management unit  114  stops supplying power at the moment. 
     The sensing module  116  is electrically connected to the controlling unit  111  for sensing and generating a displacement coordinate signal to the controlling unit  111 . The displacement coordinate signal is used as a displacement control signal for the pointing device. 
     Moreover, the encoder  117  is electrically connected to the controlling unit  111 . A roller member (not shown) disposed with the operating main body of the pointing device is collocated with the encoder  117 , in order to generate an encoding signal to the controlling unit  111 . This encoding signal is used as a motion signal for the roller member. 
     On the other hand, the mentioned receiver  12  includes a second radio-frequency circuit  121 , a system connecting port  122 , a micro-processing unit  123 , and a voltage regulating unit  124 . The second radio-frequency circuit  121  is implemented as a 2.4 GHz radio-frequency circuit, and used for wirelessly connecting to the first radio-frequency circuit  112 . Moreover, the system connecting port  122  is electrically connected to the computer system  2  for receiving a system voltage provided by the computer system  2 . The port  122  is used as a signal transmitted between the receiver  12  and the computer system  2 . Reference is made to  FIG. 2B , the system connecting port  122  is the USB exemplarily disposed in the computer system  2 . 
     The micro-processing unit  123  is electrically connected to the second radio-frequency circuit  121  and the system connecting port  122 . Further, the unit  123  has a built-in storing unit  1231  which pre-stores the identification code corresponding to the operating main body  11 . That is, at production stage, the identification code is read out from the operating main body  11  and is programmed into the storing unit  1231  of the micro-processing unit  123 . 
     The voltage regulating unit  124  is electrically connected to the system connecting port  122 , the second radio-frequency circuit  121  and the micro-processing unit  123 . The voltage regulating unit  124  is used to receive the system voltage and to transform the system voltage into an operating voltage for operations of the second radio-frequency circuit  121  and the micro-processing unit  123 . 
     Thus when the receiver  12  is connected to the computer system  2  for receiving the power supplied by the computer system  2  to operate, the micro-processing unit  123  can control the second radio-frequency circuit  121  to process the wireless communication according to the identification code stored in the storing unit  1231 . 
     Reference is made to  FIG. 3 , which illustrates a block diagram of the production matching system of the wireless peripheral device of the present invention. As the foregoing description, the identification code of the operating main body  11  is programmed into the receiver  12  during production stage. The programmed identification code makes the receiver  12  reach a state of matching in advance. In other words, the programming procedure is accomplished before factory shipment of the wireless peripheral device  1 . As shown in the diagram, the matching system of pre-defined identification code includes a wireless peripheral device  1 , a computer system  2 , and a reader  3 . The receiver  12  of the wireless peripheral device  1  is connected to the computer system  2 , and the reader  3  is also connected to the computer system  2 . As an example, both the reader  3  and the receiver  12  are connected to the computer system  2  via the USB connectors. The practical implementation is not limited to the current embodiment. 
     Furthermore, the operation main body  11  of the claimed wireless peripheral device  1  is designed to reserve a test pin  118  which is electrically connected with the controlling unit  111 . The test pin  118  can be a contact point or connecting pin reserved on the circuit board (not shown in the diagram) of the operating main body  11 . The test pin  118  is designed for connecting the reader  3 , and the reader  3  can read out the identification code built in the controlling unit  111  via the test pin  118 . 
     When the reader  3  acquires the identification code, and transfers it to the computer system  2 , the computer system  2  then performs a programming procedure. The procedure makes the identification code be programmed into the receiver  12 . Thereby, the operating main body  11  of the wireless peripheral device  1  and the corresponding receiver  12  have the same identification codes before factory shipment and a steady matching status is formed there-between. 
     In summation of above description, before factory shipment of the claimed wireless peripheral device, its operating main body and the receiver have accomplished the matching procedure. The user only needs to make the operating main body of wireless peripheral device under an operation status, and to link the receiver connected to the computer system. After that, the operating main body and the receiver are automatically communicated with each other based on the matched identification codes. It is beneficial that the link key between the operating main body and the receiver can be reduced, and the additional EEPROM in the controlling unit used to store the identification code can be reduced as well. Therefore, it is effective to reduce the cost of the wireless peripheral device. Moreover, the invention further prevents the problem for the user to operate the matching procedure. Still further, any possibility of disorder or nonfunctional identification code caused by interference there-between can be avoided since the operating main body and the receiver have been matched using the same identification code before factory shipment. 
     The above-mentioned descriptions represent merely the preferred embodiment of the present invention, without any intention to limit the scope of the present invention thereto. Various equivalent changes, alternations or modifications based on the claims of present invention are all consequently viewed as being embraced by the scope of the present invention.