Smart peripheral architecture for portable media players
A new peripheral architecture is provided that allows a UI document to be embedded into a peripheral. The UI document is sent to a portable media player when the peripheral is plugged into the portable media player. The portable media player interprets this UI document to allow a user to interact with the accessory. The peripheral does not interpret this UI document but it does respond to interactions with the portable media player as the portable media player interprets the documents in response to user interactions.
1. A method for a portable media player compatible with a peripheral device, comprising:
connecting to the peripheral device;
receiving from the peripheral device a user interface (UI) document defining layout and functionality of a UI for interacting with the peripheral device, the UI document identifying a widget and an update rate for the widget; and
executing a UI presentation program by a microprocessor of the portable media player to generate the UI based on the UI document, the executing comprising:
displaying the UI for the peripheral device on a display of the portable media player;
periodically requesting information from the peripheral device at the update rate in the UI document; and
in response to the information, updating the UI in a manner described by the UI document.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the executing further comprises:
receiving an input originating from the portable media device; and
in response to the input, updating the UI in a manner described by the UI document.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the executing further comprises:
in response to the input, modifying an operation of the peripheral device in a manner described by the UI document.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the executing further comprises:
receiving an input from the peripheral device; and
in response to the input, updating the UI in a manner described by the UI document.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the executing further comprises:
in response to the input, modifying an operation of the portable media player in a manner described by the UI document.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the executing further comprises:
receiving an input from a user through the UI;
in response to the input, (1) updating the UI in a manner described by the UI document and (2) transmitting an output to the peripheral device in a manner described by the UI document.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the executing further comprises:
receiving an input from a user through the UI;
in response to the input, modifying an operation of the portable media player in a manner described by the UI document.
8. A method for a peripheral device compatible with a portable media player, comprising:
connecting to the portable media player; and
transmitting to the portable media player a user interface (UI) document defining layout and functionality of a UI for interacting with the peripheral device, wherein the UI document identifies a widget and an update rate for the widget, and a UI presentation program executed by a microprocessor of the portable media player generates and displays the UI based on the UI document.
9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
transmitting an output to the portable media player, wherein the UI presentation program updates the UI with the output.
10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
receiving an input from the UI presentation program on the portable media player; and
modifying an operation of the peripheral device in response to the input.
11. A portable media player compatible with a peripheral device, the portable media player comprising:
a microprocessor for executing a UI presentation program;
a memory storing instructions for the UI presentation program, the instructions comprising steps for:
generating a user interface (UI) based on a UI document received from the peripheral device, the UI document defining layout and functionality of the UI for the peripheral device, the UI document identifying a widget and an update rate for the widget;
displaying the UI for the peripheral device on a display of the portable media player;
periodically requesting information from the peripheral device at the update rate in the UI document; and
in response to the information, updating the UI in a manner described by the UI document.
12. The portable media player of claim 11 , wherein the steps of the instructions for the UI presentation program further comprises:
receiving an input originating from the portable media device; and
in response to the input, updating the UI in a manner described by the UI document.
13. The portable media player of claim 12 , wherein the steps of the instructions for the UI presentation program further comprises:
in response to the input, modifying an operation of the peripheral device in a manner described by the UI document.
14. The portable media player of claim 11 , wherein the steps of the instructions for the UI presentation program further comprises:
receiving an input from the peripheral device; and
in response to the input, updating the UI in a manner described by the UI document.
15. The portable media player of claim 14 , wherein the steps of the instructions for the UI presentation program further comprises:
in response to the input, modifying an operation of the portable media player in a manner described by the UI document.
16. The portable media player of claim 11 , wherein the steps of the instructions for the UI presentation program further comprises:
receiving an input from a user through the UI;
in response to the input, (1) updating the UI in a manner described by the UI document and (2) transmitting an output to the peripheral device in a manner described by the UI document.
17. The portable media player of claim 11 , wherein the steps of the instructions for the UI presentation program further comprises:
receiving an input from a user through the UI; and
in response to the input, modifying an operation of the portable media player in a manner described by the UI document.
18. A peripheral device, comprising:
a memory storing instructions comprising steps for:
connecting to a portable media player; and
transmitting to the portable media player a user interface (UI) document defining layout and functionality of a UI for the peripheral device, wherein the UI document identifies a widget and an update rate for the widget, and a UI presentation program executed by a microprocessor of the portable media player generates and displays the UI based on the UI document.
19. The peripheral device of claim 18 , wherein the steps of the instructions further comprises:
transmitting an output to the portable media player, wherein the UI presentation program updates the UI with the output.
20. The peripheral device of claim 18 , wherein the steps of the instructions further comprises:
receiving from the portable media player an input from the user; and
in response to the input, modifying an operation of the peripheral device.