# US 2016/0366361 A1 · Acquiring and displaying information to improve selection and switching to an input interface of an electronic device

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- Number: US 2016/0366361 A1
- Document ID: US20160366361A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 15/153,065
- Filed: 2016-05-12
- Published: 2016-12-15
- Earliest claimed: 2015-06-12
- Assignees: Lenovo Enterprise Solutions (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
- Applicants: Lenovo Enterprise Solutions (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
- Inventors: Qian QiaoNeng; CheKim Chhuor
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20160366361A1

## CPC

- H04N 21/47: End-user applications
- H04N 5/268: Signal distribution or switching
- H04N 21/485: End-user interface for client configuration
- H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION

## Abstract

A method for switching an electronic device's input interface is provides, as well as a computer program product for performing the method. The method includes acquiring information from an input device through at least one input interface of the electronic device in response to receiving an input selection request from a user, and displaying the information to the user in association with a corresponding input interface. An electronic device is also provided, the electronic device including at least one input interface, a processor configured to acquire information from an input device through the at least one input interface in response to receiving an input selection request from a user, and a display operable to display the information to the user in association with a corresponding input interface.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for switching to an input interface of an electronic device, comprising:
acquiring information from an input device through at least one input interface of the electronic device in response to a received input selection request from a user;
displaying the information to the user in association with a corresponding input interface.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
switching to a selected input interface in response to receiving user input selecting one input interface of the electronic device; and
displaying data received from a corresponding input device through the selected input interface.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the step of acquiring information from an input device comprises:
determining an active input interface set from among the at least one input interface of the electronic device, wherein each input interface in the active input interface set is connected to an input device; and
acquiring the information from each input device through the active input interfaces.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the step of displaying the information to the user comprises:
displaying the information together with an identifier of the corresponding input interface.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the information is selected from a picture, a video, text information, and combinations thereof.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one input interface of the electronic device is selected from a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), a Video Graphics Array (VGA) interface, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, a network interface, a component video interface, an Audio and Video (AV) interface, an S-Video interface, a composite video interface, a Radio-Frequency (RF) modulator interface, a Digital Video Interface (DVI), a display port interface, and combinations thereof.

### Claim 7

An electronic device, comprising:
at least one input interface;
a processor configured to acquire information from an input device through the at least one input interface in response to receiving an input selection request from a user; and
a display operable to display the information to the user in association with a corresponding input interface.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The electronic device of claim 7, further comprising:
a multiplexer coupled to the at least one input interface and the processor, wherein the processor is further configured to receive the input selection request from the user and transmit an interface switching request to the multiplexer, and wherein the multiplexer is operable to switch to a selected input interface in response to receiving the interface switching request from the processor, so that the processor receives data to be displayed on the display from a corresponding input device through the selected input interface.

### Claim 9 (depends on 7)

The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine an active input interface set from the at least one input interface, wherein each active input interface in the active input interface set is connected to an input device; and
acquire the information from each input device through the active input interfaces.

### Claim 10 (depends on 7)

The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the display is further operable to display the information together with an identifier of the at least one input interface.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to receive user input selecting a displayed input interface based on the information corresponding with the input interface, and wherein the processor is configured to switch to the selected input interface.

### Claim 12 (depends on 7)

The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the information is selected from a picture, a video, text information, and combinations thereof.

### Claim 13 (depends on 7)

The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the at least one input interface of the electronic device is selected from a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), a Video Graphics Array (VGA) interface, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, a network interface, a component video interface, an Audio and Video (AV) interface, an S-Video interface, a composite video interface, a Radio-Frequency (RF) modulator interface, a Digital Video Interface (DVI), a display port interface, and combinations thereof.

### Claim 14

A computer program product for switching to an input interface of an electronic device, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a processor to cause the processor to perform a method comprising:
acquiring information from an input device through at least one input interface of the electronic device in response to a received input selection request from a user;
displaying the information to the user in association with a corresponding input interface.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The computer program product of claim 14, further comprising:
switching to a selected input interface in response to receiving user input selecting one input interface of the electronic device; and
displaying data received from a corresponding input device through the selected input interface.

### Claim 16 (depends on 14)

The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the step of acquiring information from an input device comprises:
determining an active input interface set from among the at least one input interface of the electronic device, wherein each input interface in the active input interface set is connected to an input device; and
acquiring the information from each input device through the active input interfaces.

### Claim 17 (depends on 14)

The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the step of displaying the information to the user comprises:
displaying the information together with an identifier of the corresponding input interface.

### Claim 18 (depends on 14)

The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the information is selected from a picture, a video, text information, and combinations thereof.

### Claim 19 (depends on 14)

The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the at least one input interface of the electronic device is selected from a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), a Video Graphics Array (VGA) interface, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, a network interface, a component video interface, an Audio and Video (AV) interface, an S-Video interface, a composite video interface, a Radio-Frequency (RF) modulator interface, a Digital Video Interface (DVI), a display port interface, and combinations thereof.