Dock System Multi-Brand Compatibility via Filter Driver
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional dock devices cannot directly communicate with electronic devices of different brands to adjust specific settings for connection ports, such as USB, DP, and HDMI, due to vendor-defined message limitations.
Innovation Solution
A dock system with a high-layer service filter driver in the operating system of the electronic device writes system information, including System Identity and Vendor Identity, into a storage device, allowing the Power Delivery controller to set parameters for connection ports, enabling communication and setting adjustments even between different brands.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a traditional dock device uses vendor-defined messages (VDM) for communication, then it can maintain simple communication protocols, but it cannot communicate directly with electronic devices of different brands to adjust specific settings
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a high-layer service filter driver as an intermediary component in the operating system. This filter driver intercepts and processes VDM packets before they reach the standard USB driver, enabling the dock device to communicate with electronic devices of different brands by translating and adapting the communication protocol while maintaining the original simple VDM structure
Solution Approach 2:
The communication handling is segmented into multiple layers: the standard USB driver layer for basic connectivity and the high-layer service filter driver for brand-specific adaptations. This segmentation allows the system to maintain simple base protocols while adding complexity only where needed for multi-brand compatibility
2Adaptability or versatility
If the dock device uses a high-layer service filter driver to write system information into storage, then it can recognize and set parameters for different brands, but the system initialization time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-writing system information including Vendor Identity (VID) and Product Identity (PID) into the storage device during manufacturing or initial setup. This allows the PD controller to quickly retrieve and match device identities without real-time complex processing, significantly reducing initialization time while maintaining brand recognition capability
Solution Approach 2:
The high-layer service filter driver automatically writes system information to storage and the PD controller automatically retrieves and uses this information for parameter setting. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for manual configuration or complex real-time negotiation, reducing both time and operational complexity
Data Source
AI summary
A dock system is provided. The dock system includes a dock device and an electronic device. The dock device includes a first connection interface, a Power Delivery (PD) controller, a storage device, and a plurality of connection ports. The PD controller is coupled to the connection ports. The electronic device includes a second connection interface and a processor. In response to the first connection interface being connected to the second connection interface, the processor executes a high-layer service filter driver to write system information corresponding to the electronic device into the storage device, and the PD controller uses the system information to set the parameters of the connection ports. The first connection interface and the second connection interface are PD interfaces.