Patent Publication Number: US-2018032465-A1

Title: Method for providing graphical panel of docking device and docking device thereof

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a Continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/213,396, filed on Jul. 19, 2016, which claims priority of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/342,224, filed on May 27, 2016, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Field of Invention 
     The present disclosure relates to a method for operating an interface device and the interface device thereof. More particularly, present disclosure relates to a method for providing graphical panel of a docking device and the docking device thereof. 
     Description of Related Art 
     Thanks to the improvements of USB technology, more and more interface devices are provided to people. However, most of current interface devices are used as simple intermediates for connecting with peripheral devices. Few innovative ideas are applied to make the operations more intuitive or more convenient when an interface device is in connection with other devices. Therefore, how to provide a more efficient and user-friendly interface device is a challenge to people in the art. 
     SUMMARY 
     The invention provides a method for providing graphical panel of a docking device. The method comprises following steps: electrically coupling the docking device having at least one visual indicator to a first device having a display, wherein the at least one visual indicator is provided corresponding to at least one port of the docking device; and providing a graphical panel having a first contour corresponding to a second contour of the docking device on the display, wherein the graphical panel includes at least one virtual indicator, and the at least one virtual indicator is corresponding to the at least one visual indicator. 
     Another aspect of present disclosure is to provide a docking device. The docking device comprises at least one port, at least one visual indicator and a processor. 
     The at least one port is configured to couple to a first device having a display and at least one peripheral device. The at least one visual indicator is provided corresponding to the at least one port. The processor is in connection with the at least one port, the processor is configured to provide a graphical panel having a first contour corresponding to a second contour of the docking device on the display, wherein the graphical panel includes at least one virtual indicator, and the at least one virtual indicator is corresponding to the at least one visual indicator. 
     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are by examples, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the embodiment, with reference made to the accompanying drawings as follows: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of a docking device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of a docking device associated with a laptop according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of a graphical panel corresponding to a docking device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of a graphical panel corresponding to a docking device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of a graphical panel corresponding to a docking device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG. 6  is a flow chart of a method for providing graphical panel of a docking device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts. 
     The terms used in this specification generally have their ordinary meanings in the art and in the specific context where each term is used. The use of examples in this specification, including examples of any terms discussed herein, is illustrative only, and in no way limits the scope and meaning of the disclosure or of any exemplified term. Likewise, the present disclosure is not limited to various embodiments given in this specification. 
     As used herein, the terms “comprising,” “including,” “having,” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. 
     Reference throughout the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, implementation, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Thus, uses of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, implementation, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. 
     In the following description and claims, the terms “coupled” and “connected”, along with their derivatives, may be used. In particular embodiments, “connected” and “coupled” may be used to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other, or may also mean that two or more elements may be in indirect contact with each other. “Coupled” and “connected” may still be used to indicate that two or more elements cooperate or interact with each other. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of a docking device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. A docking device  100  provided with a contour is illustrated in the embodiment. A first port  101  and a second port  103  are provided on the docking device  100  for being coupled to some peripheral devices. The first port  101  and the second port  103  are in connection with a processor  105 . Two visual indicators, a first visual indicator  102  and second visual indicator  104 , are disposed on the docking device  100 . The first visual indicator  102  is provided to indicate an operation of a peripheral device being coupled to the first port  101 . The second visual indicator  104  is provided to indicate an operation of a peripheral device being coupled to the second port  103 . 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of a docking device associated with a laptop according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The docking device  100  is coupled to a laptop  200  via a cable, wherein the cable is being connected from the laptop  200  to the second port  103  of the docking device  100 . Since the second port  103  is connected to the laptop  200 , the second visual indicator  104  may be turned on to green, which indicates that the second port  103  is in occupation. A display  201  is provided on the laptop  200  for displaying operations of the laptop  200  to a user. In the embodiment, when the docking device  100  being coupled to the laptop  200 , a graphical panel  300  is provided, by the processor  105 , on the display  201 . The graphical panel  300  is displayed with a contour corresponding to the contour of the docking device  100 . In the embodiment, the graphical panel  300  is being displayed in a three-dimensional manner corresponding to the genuine contour of the docking device  100 . 
     In the embodiment, a first virtual indicator  302  and a second virtual indicator  304  are positioned on the graphical panel  300  in the same manner with the configuration of the two visual indicators disposed on the docking device  100 . The first virtual indicator  302  is displayed according to an operating status of the first visual indicator  102 , wherein the operating status is determined by the operation of the peripheral device being coupled to the first port  101 . The second virtual indicator  304  is displayed according to an operating status of the second visual indicator  104 , wherein the operating status is determined by the operation of the peripheral device being coupled to the second port  103 . Since the second visual indicator  104  of the docking device  100  is green at the moment, the second virtual indicator  304  may display green as well. The green light of the second virtual indicator  304  is displayed for showing a virtual port  303 , which is corresponding to the second port  103  of the docking device  100 , is being occupied by the laptop  200 . In general, the graphical panel  300  is a visual user interface prepared for the user to control the docking device  100  and the peripheral devices being coupled to the docking device  100 . 
       FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of a graphical panel corresponding to a docking device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , when the docking device  100  being coupled to the laptop, the graphical panel  300  may be displayed on the display  201 . Moreover, the first port  101  of the docking device  100  is being coupled to a flash drive  400  in the embodiment of  FIG. 3 . When the flash drive  400  is physically connected to the first port  101  of the docking device  100 , the graphical panel  300  may illustrate the connection on the display  201 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , when flash drive  400  is physically connected to the first port  101 , the first visual indicator  102  corresponding to the first port  101  may be turned on to green. The graphical panel  300  on the display  201  may be rotated to one specific side for showing the user a virtual port  301  is being plug-in by a virtual flash drive  500 , and the first virtual indicator  302  may display green as well. The virtual flash drive  500  is being displayed in a three-dimensional manner according to the contour of flash drive  400 . 
       FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of a graphical panel corresponding to a docking device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. According to the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , the graphical panel  300  on the display  201  may be rotated to show the connection between the virtual port  301  and the virtual flash drive  500  when the flash drive  400  is connected to the first port  101  of the docking device  100 . Moreover, in the meantime that the flash drive  400  being connected to the docking device  100 , a notification window  600  may be provided on the display  201 . The notification window  600  having two options, a first option  601  and a second option  602 , is provided around the virtual port  301 . The notification window  600  is provided with respect to the operation of the flash drive  400  being coupled to the first port  101 . The notification window  600  is also provided with respect to the operation going to be applied to the flash drive  400 . For instance, since the flash drive  400  being coupled to the first port  101  is a storage device, the first option  601  may indicate “open flash drive”, and the second option  602  may indicate “security scan flash drive”. If the user selects the first option  601 , the laptop  200  may be triggered to communicate to the processor  105  for retrieving data hierarchies of the flash drive  400 . The laptop  200  may display a file folder regards to the data stored in the flash drive  400  on the display  201  afterward. If the user selects the second option  602 , the laptop  200  may be triggered to communicate to the processor  105  for applying available malware scan to the flash drive  400 . The laptop  200  may display a scan result on the display  201  after the scanning. 
       FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of a graphical panel corresponding to a docking device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the embodiment, the graphical panel  300  connected with the virtual flash drive  500  is displayed on the display  201 . The first virtual indicator  302  provided on the graphical panel  300  indicates the operations of the peripheral devices being coupled to the docking device  100  via the first port  101 . In the same manner, the second virtual indicator  304  provided on the graphical panel  300  indicates the operations of the peripheral devices being coupled to the docking device  100  via the second port  103 . According to the status of the visual indicators disposed on the docking device  100 , the first virtual indicator  302  and the second virtual indicator  304  may display as blinking, maintaining, color changing, pattern changing, being turning on and being turning off. By checking the display of the first virtual indicator  302  and the second virtual indicator  304 , the user may know the status of the docking device  100  and the peripheral device being coupled to the docking device  100  via the first port  101  and the second port  103 . 
     According to  FIG. 2-4 , the flash drive  400  is connected to the docking device  100  via the first port  101  so the first visual indicator  102  may maintain a green light. The first virtual indicator  302  corresponding to the first visual indicator  102  should maintain a green light accordingly. Moreover, the first virtual indicator  302  is controllable to the laptop  200 , which enables the laptop  200  to control the operation of the peripherals device being coupled to the docking device  100 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , a cursor  700  is provided on the display  201 . The user may manipulate the cursor  700  to control the graphical panel  300 , especially to the first virtual indicator  302 . When the user moves the cursor  700  to click on the first virtual indicator  302 , the graphical panel  300  may provide available operation to be applied to the flash drive  400 . Since the flash drive  400  is a storage device, the available operations may be “open flash drive”, “security scan flash drive” or “eject flash drive”. The available operations may be provided with a notification window similar to the notification window  600  in  FIG. 4  or other alternatives. 
       FIG. 6  is a flow chart of a method for providing graphical panel of a docking device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The steps of the method will be listed and explained in detail in following segments. 
     Step S 601 : electrically coupling the docking device having at least one visual indicator to a first device having a display, wherein the at least one visual indicator is provided corresponding to at least one port of the docking device. As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the docking device  100  having the contour may be electrically coupled to the laptop  200 , wherein the docking device  100  may be provided with the first visual indicator  102  and the second visual indicator  104 . 
     Step S 602 : providing, on the display, a graphical panel having a contour corresponding to a contour of the docking device, wherein at least one virtual indicator is positioned on the graphical panel corresponding to the at least one visual indicator. As shown in  FIG. 2-5 , the graphical panel  300  may be provided on the display  201  of the laptop  200 , wherein the graphical panel  300  may be provided with the contour corresponding to the contour of the docking device  100 . Moreover, the graphical panel  300  may be displayed in a three-dimensional manner corresponding to the contour of the docking device  100 . The graphical panel  300  is provided as a visual user interface for the user to control the docking device  100  and the peripheral devices being coupled to the docking device  100 . 
     Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain embodiments thereof, other embodiments are possible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the embodiments contained herein. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims.