Motorola Mobility, Inc. v. Apple, Inc.

Filing 94

NOTICE by Motorola Mobility, Inc. of Filing Brief on Claim Construction (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit, # 2 Exhibit, # 3 Exhibit, # 4 Exhibit, # 5 Exhibit, # 6 Exhibit, # 7 Exhibit, # 8 Exhibit, # 9 Exhibit, # 10 Exhibit, # 11 Exhibit, # 12 Exhibit, # 13 Exhibit, # 14 Exhibit, # 15 Exhibit, # 16 Exhibit, # 17 Exhibit, # 18 Exhibit, # 19 Exhibit, # 20 Exhibit, # 21 Exhibit, # 22 Exhibit, # 23 Exhibit, # 24 Exhibit, # 25 Exhibit, # 26 Exhibit, # 27 Exhibit, # 28 Exhibit, # 29 Exhibit, # 30 Exhibit, # 31 Affidavit)(Giuliano, Douglas)

Exhibit 7
to Motorola’s Opening Claim Construction Brief
July 28, 2011

111111

1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
US007380116B2

United States Patent

(10)

Hendry et al.

(12)

(45)

(54)

SYSTEM FOR REAL-TIME ADAPTATION TO
CHANGES IN DISPLAY CONFIGURATION

(75)

Inventors: Ian Hendry, San Jose, CA (US); Eric
Anderson, Los Gatos, CA (US);
Fernando Urbina, Colorado Springs,
CO (US)

(73)

Assignee: Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA (US)

( *)

Notice:

Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
patent is extended or adjusted under 35
U.S.c. 154(b) by 194 days.
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

(21)

Filed:

Aug. 8, 2005

(65)

Dec. 8, 2005

Related U.S. Application Data
(63)

Continuation of application No. 09/927,411, filed on
Aug. 13, 2001, now Pat. No. 6,928,543, which is a
continuation of application No. 09/074,300, filed on
May 8, 1998, now Pat. No. 6,282,646.

(51)

Int. Cl.
G06F 1124
(2006.01)
U.S. Cl. ....................... 713/100; 710/104; 345/545
Field of Classification Search ................ 713/100;
710/104; 345/545
See application file for complete search history.

(52)
(58)

(56)

References Cited
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
4,922,448 A

5/1991 Garner et al.
A
A * 111994 Sawdon ...................... 345/698
A
111994 Baldwin et al.
A
111994 Mieras et al.
5/1994 Horton et al.
A
12/1994 Monnes et al.
A
A * 111995 Lien et al. .................. 713/100
A
11/1995 Kimura
A
7/1996 Kondou et al.

(Continued)
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
"Software Architecture for the Support of Multiple Adapters on an
Interrupt Level"-IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin-Sep. 1,
1986-vol. #29-pp. 1704-1707.*

ABSTRACT

(57)

Prior Publication Data
US 2005/0273591 Al

5,014,193
5,276,458
5,276,630
5,282,268
5,309,552
5,375,210
5,386,567
5,469,223
5,535,415

Primary Examiner-Thuan Du
(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Buchanan Ingersoll &
Rooney PC

Appl. No.: 111198,289

(22)

Patent No.:
US 7,380,116 B2
Date of Patent:
*May 27, 2008

A hot-plugging capability for video devices is achieved by
shifting the responsibility for recognizing changes in the
configuration of a display environment from a computer's
operating system to a device manager. When an input/output
device is added to or removed from the computer system, an
interrupt signal informs a device manager of the fact that a
change in configuration has occurred. In response thereto,
the device manager determines whether the changed component relates to the computer's display function. If so, the
device manager makes a call to the computer's display
manager, to inform it of the fact that the display configuration has changed. In response to this call, the display
manager reconfigures the display space for the computer
system and notifies clients as appropriate, to accommodate
display features associated with the added component. With
this change in the configuration of the display space, the
added component becomes immediately available for use.
43 Claims, 3 Drawing Sheets

511990 Kunieda et al.

12'

14'
14

10

I------i---[
16'
16

18

20

EXHIBIT 7
PAGE 1

US 7,380,116 B2
Page 2

u.s. PATENT DOCUMENTS
5,590,376 A
5,682,529 A
5,825,359 A

1211996 Kou
1011997 Hendry et al.
1011998 Derby et al.

5,923,307 A
5,977,934 A
6,049,316 A

*

* cited by examiner

EXHIBIT 7
PAGE 2

7/1999 Hogle, IV ...................... 345/4
11/1999 Wada et al.
4/2000 Nolan et al.

u.s. Patent

May 27,2008

FIG. 1

US 7,380,116 B2

Sheet 1 of 3

26

14

VIDEO
CARD

"----1

DISPLA Y

[

10

1------1---------t------1--- -

DISPLAY
DRIVER

13

16

18

OPERA rING SYSTEM

APPLICATIONS

38

FIG. 2

36

"-

20

,J
r

,

}

r

(

-V

/32

)

34"

./

40

r

42

),

EXHIBIT 7
PAGE 3

""""

30

u.s. Patent

May 27,2008

US 7,380,116 B2

Sheet 2 of 3

APPLICA TIONS

20

FIG. 4
TO
DJSPLAY

46

SENSOR ~

IRQ
IRQ

PC CARD

I
I

1
DEVICE
MANAGER

-.-

44~

DISPLAY
MANAGER

V

V-22

OPERA TING SYSTEM

EXHIBIT 7
PAGE 4

48

u.s. Patent

May 27,2008

Sheet 3 of 3

US 7,380,116 B2

YES

NO
YES
NO TIFY DISPLA Y
MANAGER OF
ADDITION

YES
NOTIFY DISPLA Y
MANAGER OF
REMOVAL

54

68

56
REGISTER DEVICE

REMOVE DEVICE
58

ASSIGN BUFFERS

NOTIFY/LAUNCH
PROGRAMS

70

60

72

62

DELETE BUFFER
ASSIGNMENT

64

RESTORE
PREFERENCES

UPDATE OLD &RESTORE NEW
PREFERENCES

NOTIFY
PROGRAMS

REBUILD RESOURCES

CONTINUE

FIG. 5

EXHIBIT 7
PAGE 5

US 7,380,116 B2
1

2

SYSTEM FOR REAL-TIME ADAPTATION TO
CHANGES IN DISPLAY CONFIGURATION

enviroument for a computer system while it is in a sleep
mode, in which the computer's central processing unit is
maintained in a minimal operating state. When the computer
is "awakened" from this sleep mode, the system of the '529
patent enables the changed configuration to be immediately
recognized, and thereafter utilized in the display of information generated by the computer.
As the capabilities offered by personal computers continue to expand, the opportunities for changing the configuration of computers grows in a concomitant manner. In some
situations, users may desire to have changes in the configuration of the computer's display environment become
instantaneously effective, without the need to restart the
computer or even place it in a sleep mode. For example, the
user may create a slide presentation on a notebook computer.
During the course of a meeting, a user may desire to
immediately display the slide presentation, by connecting
the computer to a suitable video projector, or the like. It is
desirable to be able to carry out this operation without the
need to first put the computer to sleep, and thereby reduce
the time needed to operate within the changed configuration.
It is an objective of the present invention, therefore, to
expand upon the capabilities of the system of the '529
patent, by providing a display environment in which socalled "hot plugging" of displays is possible, wherein a
display becomes immediately available for use as soon as it
is plugged into the computer system.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No.
09/927,411 filed on Aug. 13, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No.
6 928 543 which is a continuation of application Ser. No.
09/074,300 filed on May 8, 1998 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,282,
646.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION

10

The present invention is directed to computer display
systems, and more particularly to a display system which is
capable of instantaneously accommodating changes in the
configuration of a computer system.

15

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As computers become more prevalent in everyday use,
particularly personal type computers, users are employing
them in a variety of different situations. Depending upon the
particular situation, the user may desire to change the
configuration of the display devices connected to the computer. For example, portable computers of the so-called
laptop or notebook type have become increasingly popular
because of their small size and light weight, making them
suitable for use while traveling. Due to the need to keep their
dimensions to a minimum, the display screens built into such
computers are relatively small in size, and may offer only
limited display capabilities. Therefore, when using one of
these types of computers in an office enviroument, the user
may connect it to a monitor having a larger display area
and/or enhanced display capabilities. Such a connection
might be made, for example, by means of a docking station
which enables the portable computer to be conveniently
connected to a variety of peripheral devices, or by inserting
a video card in a PC Card slot.
Subsequently, the user might remove the added monitor,
for example to take the computer home or to use it while
traveling. In this situation, the built-in display screen must
be used. In other words, the computer must route all information to be displayed to the built-in screen, rather than the
port to which the external monitor was connected. In addition, the displayed information must be reformatted, or
otherwise processed, to accommodate the display parameters of the built-in device.
In the past, changes in the configuration of the computer
system, such as the addition or removal of display devices,
only became effective upon a restart, or reboot, of the
computer system. As part of its initial startup procedure, the
computer's operating system detects the presence of each
device driver loaded on the system, and registers each such
detected driver to permit communications to be carried out
between the operating system and the device with which the
driver is associated. If a new device and corresponding
driver are added to the system after this initialization procedure, the driver is not registered with the operating system, and therefore communications do not take place until
the operating system goes through its initialization procedure again, e.g. upon the next reboot of the computer. Hence,
if a user adds a monitor to the computer system, the monitor
cannot be used to display information generated by the
computer until it has been rebooted.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,682,529 discloses a system for dynamically accommodating changes in the display configuration of
a computer, without the need to restart the computer. In the
system of this patent, changes can be made to the display

20

25

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
30

35

40

45

50

55

60

In accordance with the present invention, the foregoing
objective is achieved by utilizing a device manager to
automatically recognize and react to changes in the configuration of a display environment, rather than wait for the
computer's operating system to proactively determine the
status of the display environment, for example upon restarting. When an input/output device is added to or removed
from the computer system, an interrupt signal informs the
device manager of the fact that a change in configuration has
occurred. In response thereto, the device manager determines whether the changed component relates to the computer's display function. For example, it may determine
whether an added device is a video card. If so, the device
manager makes a call to the computer's display manager, to
inform it of the fact that the display configuration has
changed. In response to this call, the display manager
reconfigures the display space for the computer system, to
accommodate an additional frame buffer that is associated
with the added component. With this change in the configuration of the display space, the added component becomes
immediately available for use.
By means of this approach, the user can add a second
monitor or other hardware component to a computer and
begin to use the monitor as soon as it has been connected,
without the need to reboot the computer or otherwise
interrupt its current operating state.
Further features and advantages of the invention are
explained in detail hereinafter in the context of specific
embodiments that are described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

65

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an overall display system
architecture;
FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a display environment;

EXHIBIT 7
PAGE 6

US 7,380,116 B2

3

4

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a display system architecture
which includes plural video cards and display devices;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the operation of the
device manager; and
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the process by which
changes in the configuration of the display environment
become immediately available to the user, in accordance
with the principles of the invention.

response to operator commands, the operating system can
instruct the display manager to add a new device to a list of
active displays, or remove a device therefrom. In response
thereto, the display manager informs the application programs 20 of the new display configurations, to enable them
to update their displayed information accordingly.
In one known implementation for computer systems, the
display environment can generally be considered to be
defined by a global coordinate space 30, as depicted in FIG.
2. Objects and other information to be displayed can be
positioned anywhere within this space, as determined by the
user and/or the software program that generates the information. A reference point in this space, e.g. its origin or 0,0
coordinate point, is usually established with reference to
some object that is always present in the display. For
instance, most graphical user interfaces include some type of
menu bar or other structure which enables the user to access
basic commands to control the computer. The device which
displays this menu bar is known as the main display device.
If the computer system contains multiple display devices,
only one of the devices is designated as the main device,
even if multiple devices contain the menu bar. The origin of
the coordinate display space is typically established with
reference to the menu bar. For example, as illustrated in FIG.
2, the 0,0 point 38 in the coordinate space can coincide with
the top left comer of a menu bar 36. The positions of all
objects and other information to be displayed in the display
space 30 are defined by their coordinates within this space.
The operating system receives this coordinate information,
for example from the software programs 20 which generate
the information, and provides it to the display driver to cause
the information to appear at the appropriate place on the
screen of the display device located at the corresponding
position in the display space.
In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the display environment consists of two display devices, 32 and 34, within the
global display space 30. A menu bar 36 is displayed at the
top of the screen for the device 32, which is therefore the
main display device. Accordingly, the origin 38 of the
display space coincides with the top left comer of the device
32. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the user has caused some
objects, e.g. windows 40, to be displayed on the device 32,
and another object 42 to be displayed on the device 34.
FIG. 3 illustrates the configuration of the computer system for the particular example illustrated in FIG. 2, which
includes two display devices.
Each display device is connected to an associated video
card, which includes a corresponding video driver. For the
sake of simplicity in FIG. 3, the display drivers are not
separately illustrated, but are assumed to be present within
the system, in a manner analogous to the arrangement shown
in FIG. 1. The embodiment of FIG. 3 includes two video
cards 14 and 14', respectively associated with the two video
display devices 12 and 12'. Each of the video cards communicates with the display manager 22, by means of its
associated video driver 16 and 16'.
Among other components, each video card includes a
frame buffer, e.g. random access memory, which stores the
data for the image that is displayed on its associated display
device 12. In essence, the display manager 22 assigns the
frame buffer to a corresponding portion of the global coordinate space 30. In the example of FIG. 2, the two frame
buffers are assigned to mutually exclusive portions of the
global space. However, some or all of the portion assigned
to one of the frame buffers could overlap with the area

10

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present invention is directed to the display environment of a computer system. A block diagram of the overall
architecture for a display environment is illustrated in FIG.
1. In this figure, hardware components of the computer
system are illustrated above a dashed line 10, and software
components are depicted below the line. These software
components are stored in a suitable computer-readable
medium, such as a magnetic disk, and loaded into the
computer's working memory, i.e. RAM, for execution. The
system can include display devices 12, e.g. monitors, LCD
screens and/or plasma displays, although actual display
devices need not be physically present in order for the
principles of the invention to be operative. Each display
device is connected to, and controlled by, a video card 14
which operates in accordance with video driver software 16.
Although depicted as being on a separate substrate, such as
a printed circuit board, the components of at least one video
card could be incorporated with other components on a
single substrate, such as the computer's motherboard.
One or more software programs, such as application
programs 20, generate information to be displayed on the
display devices. Examples of such information include text,
windows and other graphical objects, and control structures
such as menus and dialog boxes. This information is presented to the display device through the computer's operating system 18, which also generates its own information to
be presented on the display. The operating system communicates with the display device through an associated display
driver 13, which constitutes a software component that
corresponds to the hardware of the display device 12.
The operating system includes a display manager 22,
which provides communication between each of the software components, and dynamically configures the display
devices 12. The communication between the various software components and the hardware devices takes place via
their associated drivers, e.g. the video driver and the display
driver. In this regard, many video displays have the capability to provide information regarding their available modes
of operation and/or timing specifications. Some displays,
so-called "smart displays," are capable of providing information about their modes of operation directly, for example
in response to inquiries. For these types of displays, the
display manager 22 communicates directly with the display
device, by means of the display driver 13, over a communication channel 24. This communication channel can be a
bus within the computer, a serial line, or any other suitable
path for exchanging information between the display manager and the display driver 13 of the display device.
In some cases, the display device may not be able to
commnnicate its capabilities directly. However, through the
use of a lookup table or the like, the display driver 13 can
obtain information regarding the display's capabilities, and
provide them to the display manager.
The display manager also communicates with other parts
of the operating system 18 and the other software programs
20 that are running on the computer. For example, in

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EXHIBIT 7
PAGE 7

US 7,380,116 B2

5

6

assigned to the other frame buffer. In this case, the same
image, or portion of an image, appears on both display
devices.
At any given time, there could be only one video card
connected to the computer, or both cards could be connected. Furthermore, in the case of a network server or the
like, it is possible that no video card would be present over
certain periods of time. Even when both cards are present,
only one of them may have a monitor or other display device
connected to it at any particular point in time.
In the case of a conventional desktop or notebook computer system, one of the video cards might be incorporated
within the structure of the computer system, and may not be
designed to be repeatedly inserted and removed by the user.
Additional video cards, however, might be capable of
being easily inserted into and removed from the computer
system. For example, the video card might be implemented
in a removable card that conforms to the PC Card standard.
This standard defines the form factor for relatively small,
credit-card shaped I/O devices, which are designed to be
easily inserted into and removed from computer housings, to
provide a computer with different capabilities. Included
among the types ofI/O devices that can be embodied in such
a card are modems, facsimile devices, network interface
cards, wireless communications devices and hard disk
drives.
Devices of this type which conform to this standard,
commonly known as PC Cards, are designed to be readily
inserted and removed from the computer housing. The
detection of the presence of such devices, as well as their
removal from the system, is handled by a portion of the
computer's operating system that is referred to herein as a
device manager. Referring to FIG. 4, when a PC Card 44 is
inserted into the housing of the computer, it actuates a switch
46, or equivalent sensor device, which sends an interrupt
signal IRQ to the device manager 48. In response to this
interrupt, the device manager determines the type of device
which has been inserted, and informs the operating system
18. In a similar manner, whenever the PC Card is removed
from the computer housing, an interrupt is also sent to the
device manager, which in tum notifies the operating system
that the device is no longer available.
Another type of change which can be made to the display
configuration of the computer is the addition or removal of
a display device. In the example of FIG. 3, for instance,
either one of the display devices 12 or 12' could be disconnected from its associated video card 14 or 14'. Furthermore,
if only one display device is present, it could be disconnected from one of the video cards 14 and connected to the
other video card 14'. Whenever a change of this nature
occurs, an interrupt is sent to the device manager 48. For
instance, the interrupt could be generated by the video card,
upon detecting that a display device has been physically
connected to or disconnected from it. Alternatively, the
interrupt could be provided by a bus that is capable of
detecting such a change.
The addition or removal of other types of hardware can
also result in a change in the display configuration of the
computer system. For example, a graphics accelerator card
can be added to the system by means of a PC Card slot.
Again, upon the addition or removal of such a device, an
interrupt signal IRQ is sent to the device manager.
The present invention is particularly directed to the situation in which the device that is added to or removed from
the computer system is related to the display function. In the
past, it was necessary to reboot the computer system in order
for a change in video hardware to become effective. More

particularly, unless a reboot occurred, the operating system
was not prompted to undertake any action which would
cause it to detect the presence of a new driver, resulting from
the addition of an associated hardware device. Hence, it was
necessary for the user to interrupt the operating state of the
computer in order to utilize the additional functionality
provided by a newly added hardware. Once the operating
system became aware of the presence of the new driver, it
could notifY the display manager to incorporate the presence
of the new frame buffer.
In accordance with the present invention, however, the
display system can be immediately responsive to the addition or removal of video hardware, so that the capabilities of
a revised configuration can be employed without the need to
change the operating state of the computer. This functionality is accomplished by, in effect, bypassing the need to
have the operating system actively determine the addition or
removal of a display device. Rather, the notification of a
change in the configuration of the display environment is
provided directly to the display manager, so that it can
directly account for the presence or absence of a particular
video device.
To this end, whenever a PC Card is added to or removed
from the computer system, the device manager determines
whether the card relates to a display function. A similar
determination is made whenever an interrupt is generated
that indicates some other type of hardware has been added
or removed, e.g. a display monitor. In addition to, or in lieu
of interrupts, other approaches can be employed to determine when a device has been added or removed. For
example, the operating system can periodically poll all of the
computer system's I/O ports, to determine which devices are
present and which ones might have been removed.
Referring to FIG. 5, upon receipt of an indication that
there has been a change in configuration, the device manager
first determines at step 50 whether a device has been added
or removed. If a device has been added to the system, the
device manager communicates with the device to determine
its type, at step 52, and stores data in a register regarding the
identity and type of the device. If the device responds with
an indication that it is a video device, the device manager
issues a call to the display manager 22, at step 54. Appropriate parameters can be included with the call, to indicate
the type of device, the size of its frame buffer (if applicable),
its resolution, and the like.
In response to this information, the display manager
carries out a number of operations, depicted in Steps 56-64.
First, it registers the added hardware as a new device, along
with the location of its associated drivers in memory, at step
56. In some cases, the driver may already be present in
memory, but in an inactive state because the device was not
connected to the system at the time of initial boot. In this
case, the display manager switches the driver to an active
state.
After registering the device, the display manager matches
each display device with an available frame buffer at step 58.
If a new video card is inserted, for example, the display
manager assigns a portion of the global coordinate space 30
to the frame buffer in the video card. If a display device is
connected to that video card, the display manager assigns
that device to the frame buffer for that card, so that the
proper data is displayed on the device. If a display device is
disconnected from one video card and connected to a
different video card, the display manager moves objects
within the global space 30 so that they are presented to the
appropriate frame buffer for the display device. For
example, the display manager can move user interface

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US 7,380,116 B2
7

8

control objects which are specific to that display, such as
brightness and contrast controls, to the frame buffer associated with that display. Similarly, if the display has other
attributes associated with it, such as a certain name or
designation, the display manager ensures that they are
directed to the proper frame buffer.
Once the display devices and frame buffers are matched
up, the display manager consults a preferences file which
indicates whether that device was connected to the system at
some previous time. This file is preferably stored in permanent memory, such as a hard disk, and updated each time a
video device is added to or removed from the computer
system to change its configuration. The file stores the state
of the display just prior to the change. For instance, it may
store the location of the menu bar and all other objects on the
desktop of the user interface, along with each device that
made up the configuration. It can store relevant operating
parameters for the device as well, such as timing values,
color depth, and the like. When a new device is added, the
display manager determines whether the changed configuration had existed previously, and if so it attempts to restore
the display environment to the state that existed the last time
that configuration was present, at step 60. For example, it
might move the menu bar and certain icons to the screen of
a newly added display device, if they were previously
located on that device before it was disconnected, or set the
timing of an added frame buffer.
In addition to these actions, at step 62 the display manager
can inform currently executing programs of the presence of
the new video device, as described in detail in U.S. Pat. No.
5,682,529, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by
reference. Furthermore, other software which is not executing, but which relates to the new device, can be activated.
For instance, if a graphics accelerator card is inserted in a PC
Card slot, the software associated with that card can be
automatically launched.
The display manager also fnnctions at step 64 to rebuild
or reconfigure resources that might be employed by the new
device. For example, in some display modes a table lookup
operation is carried out to determine the colors which are
displayed on the monitor. Different application programs
may utilize different tables for this purpose. Typically, the
window which is in the foreground of a display controls the
particular table that is used. Therefore, when windows are
moved onto a new display device, for instance in accordance
with the preferences file, the display manager rebuilds the
color lookup table stored in the frame buffer for that device
so that it corresponds to the appropriate window.
If the device manager determines at step 50 that a device
has been removed from the system, rather than added, it
determines at step 66 whether the removed hardware was a
video device, for example by reference to previously stored
information which indicated the type of card inserted into
each PC Card slot, or the like. If a determination is made that
the removed device was part of the video subsystem, the
device manager sends a call to the display manager 22, at
step 68, to inform it of this fact. In response thereto, the
display manager updates the preferences file at step 70, to
record the relevant parameters that pertain to the most recent
configuration. In addition, the display manager can attempt
to restore preferences that pertain to the new condition.
Thus, for example, if the computer system had two display
devices and one was removed, the preferences file would be
updated to store the relevant data for the two-monitor
configuration, and then searched to determine whether it
contains data for a one-monitor configuration. The display
manager then rebuilds the display configuration, at step 72.

For example, if the removed device is a video card, the
display manager deletes the assignment of a portion of the
display space to the now-removed frame buffer. In concert
with this action, the display manager can also fnnction to
move objects that were previously displayed on the removed
display device to an area associated with a remaining display
device, as described in greater detail in U.S. Pat. No.
5,682,529. If the removed device had executing software
associated with it, the display manager can cause the software to shut down.
A special case can occur if all frame buffers, e.g. video
cards, are removed from the system. Since the frame buffer
is a memory-mapped I/O device, a program or other device
could attempt to address memory that is no longer present.
Typically, when such a situation occurs, the operating system recognizes it as an error condition, and shuts down the
process which attempted to address the non-existent
memory. However, in the system of the present invention, if
an attempt is made to address memory in a video device, e.g.
a frame buffer, the resulting error condition is treated as an
interrupt. This interrupt is relayed to the display manager to
cause it to reconfigure the display environment, and delete
the assignment of display space to the frame buffer which is
no longer present.
Another action that can occur upon removal of a display
device is to change the operating mode of its display driver.
More particularly, some display devices can operate in one
mode in which adjustment of control buttons, such as
brightness and contrast controls, is accompanied by user
interface feedback, e.g. variation of a sliding scale on the
display. This operating mode requires communication with
the computer's operating system. In another operating mode,
referred to as a remote mode, no such user feedback is
provided. In the system of the present invention, when a
display device is to be removed, the display manager
instructs its display driver to switch to the remote mode, so
that no attempt is made to affect the user interface while the
device is not present.
From the foregoing, it can be seen that the present
invention provides a hot-plugging capability for video
devices, that enables users to immediately take advantage of
changes in the display configuration of a computer system,
such as the addition of a new video card. This functionality
is attained by providing notification of the changed configuration directly to the display manager, rather than waiting for
an action that prompts the operating system to review the
current configuration, such as rebooting the computer.
It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art
that the present invention can be embodied in other specific
forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. For example, while one embodiment of the
invention has been described in the context of the insertion
and removal of video cards that are embodied in PC Cards,
it will be appreciated that the principles which nnderlie the
invention are not limited to this particular implementation.
Rather, any other suitable mechanism which accommodates
the addition and removal of a video device can benefit from
the features of the present invention. The presently disclosed
embodiments are therefore considered in all respects to be
illustrative, and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is
indicated by the appended claims, rather than the foregoing
description, and all changes that come within the meaning
and range of equivalents thereof are intended to be embraced
therein.

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EXHIBIT 7
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US 7,380,116 B2

10

9

What is claimed is:
storing the location of the video driver associated with the
1. A method for reconfiguring a computer system to
added video device in the memory.
accommodate changes in a display environment, comprising
14. The method of claim 13, wherein said operating
the steps of:
system component carries out the further step of activating
detecting the addition or removal of a display device in
the video driver associated with the added video device
the computer system;
when the video driver is present in the memory and inactive.
providing a notification to a component of an operating
15. The method of claim 14, wherein said operating
system executing on said computer system that a video
system component carries out the further steps of:
device has been added or removed, in response to said
storing a preferences file that identifies the status of
10
detection; and
displayed objects prior to a change in the configuration
modifying the allocation of display space to display
of the computer system;
devices via said operating system component, in
accessing the preferences file to determine whether the
response to said notification and in accordance with the
added video device was previously connected to a
addition or removal of a video device.
frame buffer associated with the computer system; and
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the video device 15
comprises a video card that includes a frame buffer, and said
restoring a display environment to the status identified in
modifYing step includes assigning a portion of the display
the preferences file upon determining that the added
space to the frame buffer of an added video card, or deleting
video device was previously connected to the frame
the assignment of a portion of the display space to a removed
buffer associated with the computer system.
video card.
20
16. The method of claim of claim 1, wherein said oper3. The method of claim 1 wherein said operating system
ating system component carries out the further step of
component carries out the further step of storing a prefernotifying at least one software program executed by the
ences file that identifies the status of displayed objects prior
operating system of a change in the configuration of the
to a change in the configuration of a computer.
computer system in response to said notification that a video
4. The method of claim 3 wherein, upon detection of the 25 device has been added or removed.
addition of a video device, said operating system component
17. The method of claim 1 wherein, in response to said
repositions objects in said display space, in accordance with
notification of a removed video device, said operating sysa status stored in said preferences file.
tem component carries out the further step of shutting down
5. The method of claim 3, wherein said preferences file
at least one application program associated with the
stores the video devices which make up the configuration of 30 removed video device that was executing on the operating
the computer, and the locations of objects displayed on said
system.
video devices.
18. The method of claim 1 wherein, in response to said
6. The method of claim 5, wherein said preferences file
notification that a video device is removed, said operating
also stores operating parameters for said devices.
7. The method of claim 3 wherein, in response to said 35 system component carries out the further step of deleting an
assignment of display space to a frame buffer associated
notification of a removed video device, said operating syswith the removed video device.
tem component carries out the further step of searching the
19. A system which provides hot-plugging capabilities for
preferences file to retrieve a status of displayed objects
display devices, comprising:
corresponding to when the video device was previously
40
removed.
a video device including a frame buffer for storing data
8. The method of claim 1 wherein said operating system
that defines an image to be displayed on an associated
component carries out the step of assigning a respective
display device;
frame buffer, which corresponds to an allocated portion of
a first operating system component which defines a disthe display space, to a corresponding display device.
play space and assigns a portion of said display space
9. The method of claim 1 wherein, upon detection of the 45
to said frame buffer, and which provides data for
addition of a video device, said operating system component
images to be displayed to said frame buffer; and
causes a software program associated with the added device
a second operating system component which detects the
to be launched.
addition or removal of a display device in a computer
10. The method of claim 1 wherein said operating system
system, and provides a notification of such addition or
component further carries out the step of reconfiguring a 50
removal to the first operating system component in
computer resource to correspond to the status of objects
response to said detection, to cause the assignment of
located in the display space.
a portion of the display space to be modified in accor11. The method of claim 10 wherein said computer
dance with a detected addition or removal.
resource is a color look-up table.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein said first operating
12. The method of claim 1, further including the step of 55
system component launches a software program associated
recognizing an error condition resulting from an attempt to
with the display device in response to notification that the
address a frame buffer that has been removed, providing a
display device has been added.
notification to said operating system component in response
21. The system of claim 19, further including a preferto said error condition, and deleting an allocation of display
60 ences file stored in memory which indicates the status of
space to the removed frame buffer.
objects being displayed when a display device is removed.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein said operating system
22. The system of claim 21 wherein, in response to said
component carries out the further steps of:
detection of a removal of a display device, said first operregistering an added video device as a new video device
in response to said notification of an added video
ating system component is further configured for searching
65 the preferences file to retrieve a status of displayed objects
device;
corresponding to when the display device was previously
determining a location in a memory of a video driver
associated with the added video device; and
removed.

EXHIBIT 7
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US 7,380,116 B2
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12

23. The system of claim 19, wherein said first operating
storing the detected at least one of the type and identify of
the added input/output device in a memory; and
system component is further configured for:
registering an added display device as a new display
accessing the memory each time an input/output device is
device in response to the notification of an added
added to determine whether the added input/output
display device from said second operating system comdevice is a display device.
ponent;
32. The system of claim 31, wherein said second operatdetermining a location in a memory of a display driver
ing system component is further configured for determining
associated with the added display device; and
whether an input/output device removed from the computer
storing the location of the display driver associated with
system is a display device by referencing the at least one of
the added display device in the memory.
10 the type and identifY of the input/output device stored in the
24. The system of claim 23, wherein said first operating
memory.
system component is further configured for activating the
33. A computer-readable medium having a device mandisplay driver associated with the added display device
ager program and a display manager program stored thereon,
when the display driver is present in the memory and
wherein said device manager program causes a computer
inactive.
15 system to perform the steps of:
25. The system of claim 19, wherein said first operating
detecting the addition or removal of a display device in
system component is further configured for:
the computer system, and
storing a preferences file that identifies the status of
providing a notification to said display manager program
displayed objects prior to a change in the configuration
when a display device is added or removed; and
20
of the computer system;
wherein said display manager program causes the comaccessing the preferences file to determine whether an
puter system to perform the step of:
added display device was previously connected to said
modifying the allocation of display space to display
frame buffer; and
devices in response to said notification from said device
restoring a display environment to the status identified in
manager program.
the preferences file upon determining that the added 25
34. The computer-readable medium of claim 33, wherein
display device was previously connected to said frame
said display manager program causes the computer system
buffer.
to perform the further steps of storing a preferences file
26. The system of claim 19 wherein, in response to said
relating to the status of objects appearing on a display
detection of a removal of a display device, said first oper- 30 device, and restoring objects to the status stored in the
ating system component is further configured for shutting
preferences file when a display device is added.
down at least one application program associated with the
35. The computer-readable medium of claim 34 wherein,
removed display device.
in response to said notification of a removal of a display
27. The system of claim 19 wherein, in response to said
device, said display manger program causes the computer
detection of a removal of a display device, said first oper- 35 system to perform the further step of searching the preferating system component is further configured for deleting an
ences file to retrieve a status of displayed objects correassignment of display space to a frame buffer associated
sponding to when the display device was previously
with the removed display device.
removed.
28. The system of claim 19, wherein said first operating
36. The computer-readable medium of claim 33, wherein
system component is further configured for reconfiguring at
40 said display manager program causes the computer system
least one computer resource used by an added or removed
to perform the further step of assigning a respective frame
display device to correspond to a status of objects located in
buffer to a display device in response to said notification of
the display space after the change in the configuration of the
an added display device, or deleting the assignment of a
computer system, in response to said notification of an added
respective frame buffer from said display device in response
or removed display device.
45 to said notification of a removed display device.
29. The system of claim 19, further comprising a detection
37. The computer-readable medium of claim 33, wherein
unit operable to detect when an input/output device is added
said display manager program causes the computer system
to or removed from the computer system, and provide an
to perform the further step of launching a software program
indication to said second operating system component of a
in response to said notification.
detected addition or removal of an input/output device in the 50
38. The computer-readable medium of claim 33, wherein
computer system,
said display manager program causes the computer system
wherein said second operating system component is furto perform the further step of reconfiguring at least one
ther configured for receiving the indication of the
computer resource in accordance with the modification of
addition or removal of the input/output device, and
determining whether the added or removed input/out- 55 the display space allocation.
39. The computer-readable medium of claim 38, wherein
put device is a display device.
said computer resource is a color look-up table.
30. The system of claim 29, wherein said detection unit is
40. The computer-readable medium of claim 33, wherein
a video card operable to detect that an input/output device is
said display manager program causes the computer system
connected thereto or disconnected therefrom.
31. The system of claim 29, wherein said second operat- 60 to perform the further steps of:
registering an added display device as a new display
ing system component is further configured for:
device in response to the notification of an added
communicating with an added input/output device to
display device from said device manager program;
detect at least one of a type and identity of the added
determining a location in a memory of a display driver
input/output device;
associated with the added display device; and
determining whether the added input/output device is a 65
display device according to the detected at least one of
storing the location of the display driver associated with
the type and identity of the added input/output device;
the added display device in the memory.

EXHIBIT 7
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US 7,380,116 B2
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13
41. The computer-readable medium of claim 40, wherein

said display manager program causes the computer system
to perform the further step of activating the display driver
associated with the added display device when the display
driver is present in the memory and inactive.
42. The computer-readable medium of claim 33 wherein,
in response to said detection of a removal of a display
device, said display manager program causes the computer
system to perform the further step of deleting an assignment
of display space to a frame buffer associated with the
removed display device.
43. The computer-readable medium of claim 33, further
having a detection program stored thereon,

10

wherein said detection program causes the computer
system to perform the step of detecting when an
input/output device is added to or removed from the
computer system, and
wherein said device manager program causes the computer system to perform the further step of determining
whether an input/output device that was detected to be
added or removed is a display device by detecting at
least one of a type and identity of the added or removed
input/output device.

EXHIBIT 7
PAGE 12

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