Storage System LED Control With Custom Device State Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
The lack of uniformity in LED operation across different manufacturers' storage systems causes confusion when multiple vendors' charging systems are deployed, as each manufacturer uses different LED actions and colors to indicate the same device states.
Innovation Solution
Allowing users to customize the correlation between device events, LED actions, color, and brightness, enabling the application of custom-defined LED operational rules to illuminate LEDs based on device states, thereby decoupling user-defined settings from manufacturer-specific defaults.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If manufacturer-specific LED operation defaults are used, then each manufacturer can implement their own LED behavior preferences, but uniformity and consistency across different storage systems are lost causing user confusion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary software layer between the hardware LEDs and the control logic. This software intermediary provides a unified configuration interface that translates user-defined LED operation rules into manufacturer-specific implementations, allowing customization without increasing hardware complexity. The intermediary absorbs the complexity of handling different manufacturer defaults while presenting a simplified uniform interface to users.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables dynamic change of LED operation parameters (color, brightness, blinking pattern) based on device states and user preferences. Instead of fixed manufacturer-specific behaviors, the system allows parameters to be modified through software configuration, transforming the LED control from a hardware-fixed system to a software-configurable one while maintaining hardware compatibility.
2Reliability
If uniform LED operation rules are enforced across all storage systems, then consistency is improved, but manufacturer-specific preferences and hardware capabilities are restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal LED control framework that can accommodate multiple functions and preferences. The system provides default uniform LED operation rules that work across all storage systems, while simultaneously allowing manufacturer-specific customizations through software configuration. This universal framework supports both consistency and adaptability by layering configurable parameters over a standardized base implementation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the LED control system from static manufacturer-specific configurations to dynamic user-configurable settings. The LED operation rules can be adjusted in real-time based on user preferences and device states, allowing the system to adapt between uniform behavior and customized behavior as needed, rather than being locked into a single manufacturer's default implementation.
3Ease of manufacture
If LED operation is hard-coded in hardware, then implementation is simple and reliable, but user customization and flexibility are eliminated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the LED control logic from hardware and relocates it to software. By taking out the LED operation rules from hard-coded hardware implementations, the system maintains simple hardware design while enabling flexible software-based customization. The extraction separates the immutable hardware layer from the configurable software layer, allowing users to modify LED behavior without changing hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses software copies of LED control logic instead of hardware implementation. Rather than embedding control circuitry in the hardware, the system creates software representations of LED behavior that can be replicated and modified across different storage systems. This copying approach maintains hardware simplicity while enabling versatile software-based control and customization.
Data Source
AI summary
LED operation rules correlating device event, LED action, LED color, and optionally LED brightness are specified in software. As devices connect to a host computer, a correlation between device ID and USB port is detected. A port map for the storage system is used to correlate the location of a USB port where the electronic device connected to a set of LEDs on the storage system. As the states of the electronic devices connected to the storage system change, the custom-defined LED operational rules are applied on the LEDs of the storage system to cause the LEDs identified by the LED operational rules to be illuminated. Since the LED operational rules are customizable, a user can cause any combination of LED action, color, and brightness to be associated with any electronic device state.