Patent · US Expired

Programmable interface between remote terminals and a computer

US4481574A · kind A · utility

63Cited by
11References
7Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateFeb 18, 1982
Grant dateNov 6, 1984
Priority date
Expiry dateFeb 18, 2002

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F13/385
  • WIPO fieldTelecommunications
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A data receiver providing an intelligent interface for a hand held computerized data entry terminal to communicate over telephone lines with a host computer. The data receiver has multiple microprocessor control receiver line cards connected to telephone lines and interconnected to interface with the host computer. Each line card includes a system program in a nonvolatile area of memory and a customer application program in volatile area of memory. The data receiver answers the telephone, checks for errors and provides progress tones over the telephone line. When connected to a data entry terminal, the data receiver sets the baud rate, determines the line card protocol, reformats the data in accordance with the customer specifications and hands the data off to the host computer. A remote service computer may be connected to each line card to update the customer application program in the data receiver as well as perform diagnostic and testing routines over the telephone line.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.