U.S. patent application number 15/318871 was filed with the patent office on 2017-05-25 for method and system of dynamically configuring functions of machine.
The applicant listed for this patent is ABLE WORLD INTERNATIONAL LIMITED. Invention is credited to HO-CHEUNG CHEUNG, WAI-TUNG CHEUNG, SHIH-CHENG LAN, CHUN-HSIAO LIN.
Application Number | 20170146980 15/318871 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 55017056 |
Filed Date | 2017-05-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170146980 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
CHEUNG; WAI-TUNG ; et
al. |
May 25, 2017 |
METHOD AND SYSTEM OF DYNAMICALLY CONFIGURING FUNCTIONS OF
MACHINE
Abstract
In a method of dynamically configuring functions of a machine,
an agent is provided to a first machine, thereby receiving a
projectable space instance. The projectable space instance is
configured in a second machine for creating a workspace and
transmitted to the first machine based on a predefined protocol.
The projectable space instance is parsed with the agent to
automatically build a working environment for operating therein a
projected workspace corresponding to the workspace created by way
of the projectable space instance.
Inventors: |
CHEUNG; WAI-TUNG; (Hong
Kong, HK) ; LIN; CHUN-HSIAO; (New Taipei City,
TW) ; LAN; SHIH-CHENG; (Taipei City, TW) ;
CHEUNG; HO-CHEUNG; (Hong Kong, HK) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
ABLE WORLD INTERNATIONAL LIMITED |
Tortola |
|
VG |
|
|
Family ID: |
55017056 |
Appl. No.: |
15/318871 |
Filed: |
July 2, 2015 |
PCT Filed: |
July 2, 2015 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/CN2015/083157 |
371 Date: |
December 14, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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14577772 |
Dec 19, 2014 |
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15318871 |
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14324069 |
Jul 3, 2014 |
9134963 |
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14577772 |
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14325466 |
Jul 8, 2014 |
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14324069 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 67/12 20130101;
G06F 8/35 20130101; H04L 63/102 20130101; G06F 21/31 20130101; G06F
40/106 20200101; G06F 8/38 20130101; G06F 8/34 20130101; G06F 9/451
20180201; G06F 8/20 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G05B 19/4093 20060101
G05B019/4093; G05B 19/042 20060101 G05B019/042 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 4, 2015 |
CN |
201510003853.5 |
Claims
1. A method of dynamically configuring functions of a machine,
comprising: providing an agent to a first machine, thereby
receiving a projectable space instance, which is configured in a
second machine for creating a workspace and transmitted to the
first machine based on a predefined protocol; and parsing the
projectable space instance with the agent to automatically build a
working environment for operating therein a projected workspace
corresponding to the workspace created by way of the projectable
space instance.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the projectable space
instance is transmitted to the first machine via a uniform resource
identifier (URI) complying with the predefined protocol.
3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the URI is a HTTP
(hypertext transfer protocol) URI, a FTP (file transfer protocol)
URI, a local file URI, or a combination thereof.
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the agent is a
projector, which parses the projectable space instance and builds
the working environment.
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the agent loads a
projector into the first machine for parsing the projectable space
instance and building the working environment.
6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the projectable space
instance is an object, an XML (extensible markup language)
document, or an instance which is instantiated with a structured
language or a structured protocol.
7. A system of dynamically configuring functions of a machine,
comprising: a first machine comprising an instance processing unit;
and a second machine configured therein a projectable space
instance for creating a workspace; wherein the instance processing
unit receives the projectable space instance from the second
machine based on a predefined protocol and parses the projectable
space instance to automatically build a working environment for
operating therein a projected workspace corresponding to the
workspace created by way of the projectable space instance.
8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the projectable space
instance is transmitted to the first machine via a uniform resource
identifier (URI) complying with the predefined protocol.
9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the URI is a HTTP
(hypertext transfer protocol) URI, a FTP (file transfer protocol)
URI, a local file URI, or a combination thereof.
10. The system according to claim 7, wherein the instance
processing unit is an agent.
11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the agent is a
projector, which parses the projectable space instance and builds
the working environment.
12. The system according to claim 10, wherein the agent loads a
projector into the first machine for parsing the projectable space
instance and building the working environment.
13. The system according to claim 7, wherein the projectable space
instance is an object, an XML (extensible markup language)
document, or an instance which is instantiated with a structured
language or a structured protocol.
14. The system according to claim 7, wherein the first machine is a
home appliance, a medical facility or a network appliance.
15. A machine, comprising: an instance processing unit for
receiving a projectable space instance transmitted to the machine
based on a predefined protocol; wherein an another machine
configured therein the projectable space instance for creating a
workspace before the projectable space instance is transmitted to
the machine; and wherein the instance processing unit receives the
projectable space instance and parses the projectable space
instance to automatically build a working environment for operating
therein a projected workspace corresponding to the workspace
created by way of the projectable space instance.
16. The machine according to claim 15, wherein the projectable
space instance is transmitted to the first machine via a uniform
resource identifier (URI) complying with the predefined
protocol.
17. The machine according to claim 16, wherein the URI is a HTTP
(hypertext transfer protocol) URI, a FTP (file transfer protocol)
URI, a local file URI, or a combination thereof.
18. The machine according to claim 15, wherein the instance
processing unit is an agent.
19. The machine according to claim 18, wherein the agent is a
projector, which parses the projectable space instance and builds
the working environment.
20. The machine according to claim 15, wherein the projectable
space instance is an object, an XML (extensible markup language)
document, or an instance which is instantiated with a structured
language or a structured protocol.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a configuring method, and
particularly to a method of dynamically configuring functions of a
machine by way of a workspace. The present invention also relates
to a system of dynamically configuring functions of a machine.
BACKGROUND
[0002] As information and communications technology improves every
day, building an informationized, digitized, human-centered and
facilitative smart life has become a trend in the future.
Meanwhile, home appliances that are parts of our daily lives would
become keys to digital homes and smart lives for sure. Hence, the
development of intelligentized home appliances would be one of the
mainstreams in industry.
[0003] Generally speaking, the functions of a commercially
available electronic product have been defined before leaving
factory. Ordinary consumers cannot modify the electronic product to
have more or desired functions, and cannot change the settings of
the electronic product, either. However, it sometimes needs a
little modification to meet the user's requirement. For instance, a
commercially available home television generally receives cable
signals, internet signals or audio/video signals and displays
frames on the television screen in response to the received
signals. If a user would like to have warning or reminding
information, e.g. low battery status of another electronic product
or a personal schedule such as meeting time, displayed on the
television screen, the user needs to buy associated auxiliary
products to implement the requirements, or buy another television
which meets the requirements to replace for the existing one. It
would not be an ideal type of smart life.
SUMMARY
[0004] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide
method and system of dynamically configuring functions of a
machine, whereby a user can make adaptive settings for the machine
in conformity to people's habits and requirement.
[0005] In an aspect, the present invention provides a method of
dynamically configuring functions of a machine, which comprises:
providing an agent to a first machine, thereby receiving a
projectable space instance, which is configured in a second machine
for creating a workspace and transmitted to the first machine based
on a predefined protocol; and parsing the projectable space
instance with the agent to automatically build a working
environment for operating therein a projected workspace
corresponding to the workspace created by way of the projectable
space instance.
[0006] In another aspect, the present invention provides a system
of dynamically configuring functions of a machine, which comprises:
a first machine comprising an instance processing unit; and a
second machine configured therein a projectable space instance for
creating a workspace; wherein the instance processing unit receives
the projectable space instance from the second machine based on a
predefined protocol and parses the projectable space instance to
automatically build a working environment for operating therein a
projected workspace corresponding to the workspace created by way
of the projectable space instance.
[0007] In another aspect, the present invention provides a machine,
which comprises: an instance processing unit for receiving a
projectable space instance transmitted to the machine based on a
predefined protocol; wherein an another machine configured therein
the projectable space instance for creating a workspace before the
projectable space instance is transmitted to the machine; and
wherein the instance processing unit receives the projectable space
instance and parses the projectable space instance to automatically
build a working environment for operating therein a projected
workspace corresponding to the workspace created by way of the
projectable space instance.
[0008] In an embodiment, the projectable space instance is
transmitted to the first machine via a uniform resource identifier
(URI) complying with the predefined protocol.
[0009] In an embodiment, the URI is a HTTP (hypertext transfer
protocol) URI, a FTP (file transfer protocol) URI, a local file
URI, or a combination thereof.
[0010] In an embodiment, the instance processing unit is an
agent.
[0011] In an embodiment, the agent is a projector, which parses the
projectable space instance and builds the working environment.
[0012] In an embodiment, the agent loads a projector into the first
machine for parsing the projectable space instance and building the
working environment.
[0013] In an embodiment, the projectable space instance is an
object, an XML (extensible markup language) document, or an
instance which is instantiated with a structured language or a
structured protocol.
[0014] In an embodiment, the first machine is a home appliance, a
medical facility or a network appliance.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] The above objects and advantages of the present invention
will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in
the art after reviewing the following detailed description and
accompanying drawings, in which:
[0016] FIG. 1 is a scheme showing a unifying method, which is
applicable to the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 2 is a scheme illustrating implementation of a personal
workspace with a unified script used as an intermediate
language;
[0018] FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram exemplifying allocation
of unified matters in a personal workspace, which is applicable to
the present invention;
[0019] FIGS. 4, 5A and 5B are schematic diagrams exemplifying
creation of a projected workspace, which is applicable to the
present invention;
[0020] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram exemplifying the relationship
between a projectable space instance and a projected workspace
applicable to the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of dynamically
configuring functions of a machine according to the present
invention;
[0022] FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram exemplifying an initial
state of a configuring system to which a configuring method
according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied;
[0023] FIGS. 9A.about.9C are schemes exemplifying sequential
operations of the configuring system of FIG. 8;
[0024] FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram exemplifying an initial
state of a configuring system to which a configuring method
according to another embodiment of the present invention is
applied; and
[0025] FIGS. 11A.about.11C are schemes exemplifying sequential
operations of the configuring system of FIG. 10.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0026] The present invention can be readily appreciated by
referring to the following descriptions, including the following
glossary of terms and the concluding examples. It is to be noted
that some patent publication numbers or patent application numbers
are cited throughout the specification, and the entire disclosures
thereof are to be incorporated herein for reference.
[0027] In the embodiments described below, the present invention is
described by way of examples and characteristic illustrations, but
is not to be limited to the examples and characteristic
illustrations. The term "information source" used herein indicates
a symbolic sequence of useful information that can be specifically
interpreted as, but not limited to, a message for organizing and
labeling data. The information source includes a website (such as
internet service), intranet, software, electronic book, database
and other media of information (such as storage media of
non-transitory computer or storage media of mobile device). The
term "original information" used herein indicates, but is not
limited to, a file, web page, database row, policy, rule or any
information accessible from corresponding machine or server. The
term "tool" used herein indicates, but is not limited to, a
utility, widget, agent, application, service or any executable
element accessible from corresponding machine or server.
[0028] Furthermore, the "original information" and the "original
tool" are embodiments of the "original matter" in the present
invention. By way of a unifying method, multiple "original matters"
from the same or different "information sources" are modelled into
multiple "unified matters". The resulting "unified matters"
existing in the same working environment are then compatible with
one another and capable of conducting cooperative task. Moreover,
the "unified tool" and the "unified information unit" are
embodiments of the "unified matter" in the present invention. The
term "matterizer" used herein indicates a component, device or
program code for unifying the "original matter".
[0029] In a preferred embodiment, the unifying method mentioned
above includes steps of reorganizing at least one original
information obtained from at least one of the multiple information
sources based on a unified data structure, thereby modeling the
original information into a unified information unit; and/or
reorganizing at least one original tool obtained from at least one
of the multiple information sources based on another unified data
structure, thereby modeling the original tool into a unified tool.
The unified data structure and the another unified data structure
may be the same or different. The unifying method can be
implemented with a matterizer.
[0030] Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a scheme showing a unifying
method, which is applicable to the present invention. As shown in
FIG. 1, a matterizer 992 reorganizes an attribute and an associated
link of an original matter 991 based on a unified data model 993,
thereby modeling the original matter 991 into a unified matter 994.
The resulting basic attribute of the unified matter 994 then
includes a type and a link of the original matter 991.
[0031] In this embodiment, the original matter 991 could be, but is
not limited to an original information and/or an original tool. In
the above mentioned unifying method, if the attribute accessible
from the original information complies with the attribute
requirement of the unified information unit, the unified
information unit can be directly generated through the matterizer
992. On the other hand, if the attribute accessible from the
original information does not comply with the attribute requirement
of the unified information unit, a process of logically
reorganizing the attribute and the associated link of the original
information to redefine the original information is needed, in
order to transform the original information into a new original
information with an attribute consistent to the attribute
requirement of the unified information unit. Under this
circumstance, the unified information unit is indirectly
generated.
[0032] Furthermore, the unified tool is directly generated through
the matterizer 992 when the original tool is compatible with the
working environment of the workspace; and an adapter and/or a
software development kit (SDK) for driving the original tool would
be required as a medium for generating the unified tool, i.e.
indirectly, when the original tool is incompatible with the working
environment of the workspace. In other words, the adapter is used
to provide an interface implementation to fit the working
environment.
[0033] The details of the embodiments of unifying method, the
acquisition of the unified matters and the operation of the
matterizer according to the present invention can be understood
with reference to, but not limited to, the U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 14/324,069, entitled "A method of unifying information and
tool from a plurality of information sources" as well as the China
Patent Application No. 201410768564.X, which claims the benefit of
priority to the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/324,069 and is
entitled "A method of unifying information and tool from a
plurality of information sources and computer product and device
using the method", which are assigned to the same assignee. The
entire disclosures of the co-pending patent applications are
incorporated herein for reference, and would not be redundantly
described. Furthermore, those skilled in the art may make
equivalent modifications according to practical requirements.
[0034] Hereinafter, two more examples of unifying methods
applicable to the present invention are given as follows. The first
one is an information unifying method applied to Garmin satellite
navigation. Similar to above-mentioned unifying method, a unified
point information (regarded as the unified information unit of the
present invention) corresponding to an original point information
(regarded as the original information of the present invention) is
obtained after a unifying process is performed on the original
point information by executing the Point of Interest (POI) function
of Garmin satellite navigation. The second one is a tool unifying
method applied to an Android system. An Android system is an open
source mobile operating system based on Linux. In general,
application programs (regarded as the original tool of the present
invention) of Android systems are written in Java. Therefore,
application programs (regarded as the original tool of the present
invention) written in Java can be modeled into unified applications
(regarded as the unified tool of the present invention) compatible
with the Android system. The resulting unified application programs
corresponding to the application programs written in Java are then
executable in the Android system.
[0035] The workspace described herein is a space where at least one
matterizer, at least one information and/or at least one tool can
interact with one another and/or execute specified tasks. The at
least one information and/or at least one tool can be, but is not
limited to be, imported into the workspace through the at least one
matterizer. Information importers 9881, 9882 and 9883 to be
described later with reference to FIG. 5 are exemplified
embodiments of the matterizer. The unified script described herein
is an intermediate language for implementing the workspace, and the
at least one matterizer, the at least one information and/or the at
least one tool are provided, for example built-in or plugged-in, to
the workspace by way of the unified script.
[0036] In an embodiment, the above-mentioned at least one
information is a unified information unit which is generated after
at least one original information obtained from at least one
information source is unified. The above-mentioned at least one
tool is a unified tool which is generated after at least one
original tool obtained from at least one information source is
unified. Any user could add, build or plug any unified information
unit he needs and/or unified tool he needs from corresponding
information sources into a personal workspace according to
practical needs. In other words, the workspace can be a
user-oriented personal workspace.
[0037] Please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 FIG. 2 schematically
illustrates an implementation concept of using the unified script
as an intermediate language for implementing the workspace, and
FIG. 3 schematically illustrates an exemplified configuration of a
personal workspace. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a unified
information unit 985' corresponding to an original information 985
in the Dropbox 982, a first unified tool 986' corresponding to a
compatible original tool 986 in the cloud storage 983 and a second
unified tool 987' corresponding to an incompatible original tool
987 in a server 984 are selectively combined into a personal
workspace 981 by a user. This can be accomplished by compiling a
unified script 980 and configuring an information importer 9881 of
Dropbox 982, an information importer 9882 of the cloud storage 983
and an information importer 9883 of the server 984 according to the
unified script 980. Accordingly, the original information 985 in
the Dropbox 982 can be unified into the unified information unit
985' and then imported into the personal workspace 981. For example
without limitation, the unified script 980 is defined as an
intermediate language for implementing the workspace, and the
information importer 9882 is a matterizer of Dropbox.
[0038] As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the original tool saved in
the cloud storage 983 is a compatible original tool 986 which is
compatible with the component architecture of the unified tool of
the personal workspace 981. The first unified tool 986'
corresponding to the compatible original tool 986 is directly
provided to the personal workspace 981 through the information
importer 9882 of the unified script 980.
[0039] On the other hand, the original tool saved in the server 984
is the incompatible original tool 987 which is incompatible with
the component architecture of the unified tool of the personal
workspace 981. Then the second unified tool 987' corresponding to
the incompatible original tool 987 is indirectly provided to the
personal workspace 981 through a compatible adaptor 989 and the
information importer 9883 of the unified script 980.
[0040] FIG. 3 further shows that the unified information unit 985',
the first unified tool 986' and the second unified tool 987' are
flexibly configured and arranged, e.g. grouped or placed, by the
user in a specified region of the personal workspace 981 according
to practical needs. Afterwards, the user may use the unified tool
to do what he wants to do, for example, to access and control the
corresponding unified information unit by way of operations between
the unified tool and the unified information unit, such as clicking
or dragging.
[0041] The specific descriptions of using the unified script as the
intermediate language for implementing the workspace and
selectively combining unified information unit and unified tool
from corresponding information sources into the personal workspace
to perform tasks according to practical needs, as mentioned in the
embodiments, can also be referred to a co-pending U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 14/325,466, entitled "A method of combining
unified matters in personal workspace", as well as the China Patent
Application No. 201410796528.4, which claims the benefit of
priority to the U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 14/324,069 and
14/325,466 and is entitled "A method of combining unified matters
in a personal workspace and computer product and device using the
method", which are assigned to the same assignee, and will not be
redundantly described herein.
[0042] The personal workspace mentioned above is just an embodiment
of the workspace, and the workspace adapted to be used in the
present invention is not limited thereto. For instance, a unified
script which is regarded as the intermediate language for
implementing the workspace can be edited in advance so as to render
a workspace built in a matterizer, information and/or tool.
Furthermore, the workspace is not limited to a private workspace,
but can be provided for cooperative work among multiple users at
the same or different time according to practical needs.
Furthermore, the workspace can be projected to any electronic
device with computing capability by way of a workspace-projecting
method so that a user may use the projected workspace on that
electronic device.
[0043] In an embodiment, the workspace-projecting method includes
acquiring a projectable space instance which is instantiated from a
unified script through a URI (uniform resource identifier). The
unified script is defined to configure a matterizer, information
and/or tool to model a workspace, as described above, and the
projectable space instance is used for building a projected
workspace corresponding to the workspace to provide an interface
for operating the matterizer, information and/or tool. The
workspace-projecting method further includes using a projector to
parse the projectable space instance and build a working
environment to configure the matterizer, information and/or tool,
in order to execute the projected workspace. Then the user may
interact with the projected workspace.
[0044] In the workspace-projecting method, the projector can be
acquired from a remote data station, a projectable space instance
or a preloaded application program, and loaded to an engine where a
compatible working environment is provided for executing the
projector. The engine includes, but is not limited to, a JavaScript
engine, a Windows application, and/or a Linux application program.
Furthermore, the unified script can be declared by a DTD (Document
Type Definition), an XML Schema, a structured language or a
structured protocol, but is not limited thereto. The projectable
space instance can be, but is not limited to, an object, an XML
document, or an instance which is instantiated with the structured
language or the structured protocol.
[0045] Furthermore, the workspace-projecting method will be
illustrated in more detail by way of some embodiments. Please refer
to FIG. 4, FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B and FIG. 6. FIG. 4 schematically
illustrates an initial state before the workspace-projecting method
is performed. FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B schematically illustrates the
progresses of the workspace-projecting method. FIG. 6 schematically
shows the relationship between a projectable space instance as
shown in FIG. 4 and a projected workspace as shown in FIG. 5B. As
shown in FIG. 6, a first electronic device 971 and a second
electronic device 972 can be interconnected to each other, for
example, through the internet. Furthermore, the projectable space
instance 973 is saved in the first electronic device 971, and a
built-in projector 974 is saved in the second electronic device
972.
[0046] In this embodiment, a unified script 980 is declared by the
DTD (Document Type Definition) for configuring at least one
information importer, at least one unified information and/or at
least one unified tool to model a workspace. The information
importer is an embodiment of the matterizer. Moreover, the
projectable space instance 973 is an object which is instantiated
with XML. As shown in FIG. 6, the projectable space instance 973 is
used for building the projected workspace 976 corresponding to the
workspace. Besides, the information importer, the unified
information and/or the unified tool is allowed to be added in or
removed from the projectable space instance 973. The
above-mentioned descriptions will be illustrated in more details as
follows.
[0047] Furthermore, the projector 974 of the second electronic
device 972 will establish a working environment 975 on the second
electronic device 972 for executing the projected workspace 976,
and the projector 974 provides a microkernel 977 (see FIG. 6) to
the working environment 975 for equipping at least one information
importer, at least one unified information and/or at least one
unified tool which is/are going to be added to the projected
workspace 976. When the second electronic device 972 acquires the
projectable space instance 973 saved in the first electronic device
971 through a URI, the projector 974 of the second electronic
device 972 starts to parse the projectable space instance 973, as
shown in FIG. 8A. After the projectable space instance 973 is
parsed by the projector 974, the projected workspace 976 is created
in the working environment 975 according to parsed contents of the
projectable space instance 973, as shown in FIG. 8B. Accordingly, a
user of the second electronic device 972 can interact with the
projected workspace 976 through the second electronic device 972 to
perform related tasks.
[0048] The relationships between above mentioned unified script
980, the projectable space instance 973 and the projected workspace
976 will be illustrated in more detailed by way of a practical
condition as shown in FIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 7, a workspace which
can be projected and is capable of accessing jpg format image files
and gif format image files saved in a specified internet space is
created for making the image files visible to a user. In this
example, the unified script 980 is declared by the Document Type
Definition (DTD), and the projectable space instance 973 is
instantiated with XML.
[0049] Moreover, the information importer and the unified tool will
be added into the projectable space instance 973, and the
information importer is used to import at least one unified
information unit corresponding to original information into the
projected workspace 976. In this example, the information importer
is a Dropbox importer (the information of the Dropbox importer is
exemplified in the dashed line frame 9761 of FIG. 6). The original
information are jpg format image file 9791, jpg format image file
9792 and gif format image file 9793 stored in Dropbox 979, and the
unified information units are unified jpg format image file 9791',
unified jpg format image file 9792' and unified gif format image
file 9793'. The unified tool is an image viewer (the information of
the unified tool is exemplified in the dashed line frame 9762 of
FIG. 6) used for accessing image files which are imported into the
projected workspace 976.
[0050] As mentioned previously, the projected workspace 976 is
created after the projectable space instance 973 is parsed by the
projector 974 of the second electronic device 972. In this example,
the Dropbox importer 9761' (corresponding to the dashed line frame
9761) and the image viewer 9762' (corresponding to the dashed line
frame 9762) are configured in the projected workspace 976. The
Dropbox importer 9761' unifies and imports the jpg format image
file 9791, the jpg format image file 9792 and the gif format image
file 9793 from Dropbox 979 into the projected workspace 976. Then
the unified jpg format image file 9791', the unified jpg format
image file 9792' and the unified gif format image file 9793'
corresponding to the jpg format image file 9791, the jpg format
image file 9792 and the gif format image file 9793, respectively,
are present in the projected workspace 976. When the user of the
second electronic device 972 manipulates any of the unified image
files 9791', 9792' and 9793' by way of any suitable means, e.g.
clicking on the icon representing one of the unified images files
9791', 9792' and 9793', or dragging and dropping the icon
representing one of the image files 9791', 9792' and 9793' to the
image viewer 9762', the image viewer 9762' will access contents of
the corresponding unified image file 9791', 9792' or 9793' to
present the unified image file 9791', 9792' or 9793' in front of
the user. The information importer 9761' and the image viewer 9762'
mentioned above may be equipped by the microkernel 977.
[0051] It is to be noted that the URI of the projectable space
instance 973 may be a HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) URI or a
FTP (file transfer protocol) URI. When the first electronic device
971 and the second electronic device 972 are integrated into one
device, the URI of the projectable space instance 973 can also be a
local file URI. The URI of the projectable space instance 973 is
not limited to the above-mentioned types. The projectable space
instance 973 can be accessed by not only an original editor, but
also an authorized user or an authorized electronic device. For
instance, the authorized user may, but is not limited to, acquire
the projectable space instance 973 through the URI by using an
authorized user account and password.
[0052] A related art disclosed in patent application Ser. No.
14/577,772, entitled "Method of projecting a workspace and system
using the same" and assigned to the same assignee, as well as the
China Patent Application No. 201410814138.5, which claims the
benefit of priority to the U.S. patent application Ser. Nos.
14/324,069, 14/325,466 and 14/577,772 and is entitled "Method of
projecting a workspace and system using the same", are applicable
to embodiments of the present invention. The disclosure of the
co-pending patent applications are incorporated herein for
reference.
[0053] It is to be noted that the workspace-projecting method
described above is only one of the examples for projecting a
workspace to any electronic device with computing capability. Those
who are skilled in the art may make variations and modifications to
the workspace-projecting method described above depending on
practical requirements.
[0054] With the utilization of the above-mentioned or other related
art, a method of configuring functions of a machine is developed
according to the present invention. Hereinafter, the configuring
method according to the present invention will be described in more
detail by way of embodiments with reference to accompanying
drawings.
[0055] Please refer to FIG. 7, which is a flowchart illustrating a
method of configuring functions of a machine according to the
present invention. The configuring method includes: Step P1:
dynamically configuring functions of a machine, which comprises:
providing an agent to a first machine, thereby receiving a
projectable space instance, which is configured in a second machine
for creating a workspace and transmitted to the first machine based
on a predefined protocol; and Step P2: parsing the projectable
space instance with the agent to automatically build a working
environment for operating therein a projected workspace
corresponding to the workspace created by way of the projectable
space instance.
[0056] The projectable space instance is configured according to
the functions and/or operations of the firs machine expected by the
user. The method according to the present invention will be
described in mor detail by way of the following examples.
[0057] Please refer to FIG. 8, FIG. 9A, FIG. 9B and FIG. 9C,
wherein FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram exemplifying an initial
state of a configuring system to which a configuring method
according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied, and
FIGS. 9A-9C are schemes exemplifying sequential operations of the
configuring system of FIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 8, the configuring
system includes a first machine 1, a second machine 2, a third
machine 3 and a fourth machine 4, which are interconnected, for
example, via the internet.
[0058] For example, the functions of the first machine 1 is to be
configured by a user 5. The first machine 1 includes an agent 11.
The second machine 2 is the one that the user 5 manipulates, e.g. a
computer. The second machine 2 includes a space manager 21. The
third machine 3 is a machine where a projectable space instance 31A
is saved, e.g. a network attached storage (NAS), and the fourth
machine 4 is a machine where a projector 41 is saved.
[0059] For setting the functions and/or operational processes of
the first machine 1, the user 5 configures the projectable space
instance 31A in the third machine 3 by way of the space manager 21
in the second machine 2 according to practical requirements. After
configuration of the projectable space instance 31A, a URI (uniform
resource identifier) corresponding to the projectable space
instance 31A is sent to the first machine 1, as shown in FIG. 9A.
Afterwards, the agent 11 in the first machine 1 receives and
automatically opens the URI sent by the user 5 from the second
machine 2, so as to obtain the projectable space instance 31A from
the third machine 3, as described in Step P1 and shown in FIG.
9B.
[0060] The agent 11 of the first machine 1 also loads the projector
41 of the fourth machine 4 into the first machine 1. The projector
41 parses the projectable space instance 31A obtained by the first
machine 1 and builds a working environment in the first machine 1.
After the projectable space instance 31A is parsed by the projector
41, a projected 31B is built in the working environment according
to contents of the projectable space instance 31A, as described in
Step P2 and shown in FIG. 9C. Accordingly, the first machine 1 can
configure functions and/or operational processes that the user 5
requires by way of the projected workspace 31B.
[0061] The agent 11 in the first machine 1 can be set to
automatically open a URI transmitted to the first machine 1 based
on a predefined protocol only. For example, the URI transmitted to
the first machine 1 based on the predefined protocol can be, but is
not limited to, a HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) URI, a FTP
(file transfer protocol) URI or a local file URI.
[0062] The above-mentioned descriptions are presented herein for
illustration only. It is noted that a variety of modifications and
alterations may be made according to the practical requirements.
For instance, at least two of the second machine 2, the third
machine 3 and the fourth machine 4 may be integrated as a unitary
device. That is, at least two of the space manager 21, the
projectable space instance 31A and the projector 41 are saved in
the same device.
[0063] Please refer to FIG. 10, FIG. 11A, FIG. 11B and FIG. 11C,
wherein FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram exemplifying an
initial state of a configuring system to which a configuring method
according to another embodiment of the present invention is
applied; and FIGS. 11A-11C are schemes exemplifying sequential
operations of the configuring system of FIG. 10. This embodiment is
similar to the embodiment of configuring system as described above
with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9A-9C except that the first machine 1
includes an agent 11', which is a projector. Under this
circumstance, the configuring system does not need a machine for
saving the projector.
[0064] Similar to the above embodiment, for setting functions
and/or operational processes of the first machine 1, the user 5
configures the projectable space instance 31A in the third machine
3 by way of the space manager 21 of the second machine 2 according
to practical requirements. After configuration of the projectable
space instance 31A, the URI corresponding to the projectable space
instance 31A is sent to the first machine 1, as shown in FIG. 11A.
Afterwards, the agent 11' in the first machine 1 receives and
automatically opens the URI sent by the user 5 from the second
machine 2, so as to obtain the projectable space instance 31A from
the third machine 3, as described in Step P1 and described in FIG.
11B.
[0065] Since the agent 11' itself is a projector, i.e. the
projector 41, the agent 11' can parse the projectable space
instance 31A obtained by the first machine 1 and build the working
environment in the first machine 1. After the projectable space
instance 31A is parsed by the agent 11', the projected workspace
31B is built in the working environment according to contents of
the projectable space instance 31A, as described in Step P2 and
shown in FIG. 11C. Accordingly, the first machine 1 can configure
functions and/or operational processes that the user 5 requires by
way of the projected workspace 31B.
[0066] From the above descriptions, the method of dynamically
configuring functions of a machine according to the present
invention enables the machine to include dynamic functions. A user
can configure and set functions of the machine as desired. The
present invention can not only make the use of the machine conform
to habits and requirements of the user, but also be applicable to a
variety of fields, e.g. home appliances, medical facilities and
network appliances. As a result, the configuring method and system
according to the present invention exhibit great values in
industry.
[0067] While the invention has been described in terms of what is
presently considered to be the most practical and preferred
embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention needs not be
limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is
intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements
included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which
are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to
encompass all such modifications and similar structures.
* * * * *