Portable PCMCIA interface for a host computer
US5519851A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 14, 1994 |
| Grant date | May 21, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 14, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F13/102
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A portable PCMCIA interface for a host computer having a system bus. In one embodiment, the host computer is a SPARC based computer having an SBus and running the UNIX operating system. The PCMCIA interface provides a user application with access to a PCMCIA card. In this embodiment, the PCMCIA interface includes software and hardware components. The software component includes a hardware-independent portion and a hardware-dependent portion. By implementing the software in a suitable high level language such as "C", the software can be easily ported to other hardware platforms by merely adapting the hardware-dependent portion. The hardware component includes an ASIC coupled between the system bus and a couple of PCMCIA sockets. In some embodiments, the hardware also includes a 5 volt to 12 volt DC--DC converter between the system bus and the PCMCIA sockets.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.