Inter-repeater backplane for allowing hot-swapping of individual repeater circuits
US5777996A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 29, 1996 |
| Grant date | Jul 7, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 29, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S370/911
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An inter-repeater backplane that allows seamless integration of multiple repeaters into a single hub and wherein each repeater may be swapped out without causing the backplane to crash, hang-up or pass error messages. The mixed signal state machines operate in conjunction with the dual analog, digital collision signaling scheme so that repeaters can be removed from the hub without causing the remaining repeaters in the hub to malfunction. Additional drivers or external glue logic are not needed for arbitration because PORTN and PORTM information is embedded within the backplane signals. Thus, the backplane scheme according to the present invention is completely seamless. The present invention provides a bus of electrically conductive signal lines coupled between repeaters for communicating electrical signals therebetween, collision signaling scheme that uses both analog and digital signals to convey state machine information to adjacent repeaters over the bus, collision force scheme for indicating transmit collision over the bus, monitor scheme for determining when transmit collision and PORTM conditions occur and mixed signal state machines for implementing the functions of the re…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.