Data path switch method and apparatus that provides capacitive load isolation
US5418911A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 9, 1992 |
| Grant date | May 23, 1995 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 9, 2012 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F13/4022
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Components of a computer system are coupled using a data path application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) crossbar switch. A plurality of multi-bit bi-directional register ports are intercoupled using multi-bit multiplexer circuitry. Port selection control signals provided to the multiplexer direct the flow of data through the data path ASIC. The data path ASIC electrically isolates the components of the computer system, thereby minimizing the capacitive load on signal lines and permitting signals to transfer at high rates of speed. Control of the data path ASIC is provided by external circuitry to increase the flexibility of the crossbar switch by removing dependency on any particular communications protocol. Multiple data path ASICs may be combined in parallel to increase bandwidth of data flow by using a bit slice scheme.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.