Apparatus and method to uniquely identify similarly connected electrical devices
US5836785A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 12, 1997 |
| Grant date | Nov 17, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 12, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S439/955
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A novel identity apparatus in the form of, for example, a cable or a system board has a number of connectors, each connector including one or more "identity" terminals, that are used to uniquely identify an electrical device attached to the connector. The identity apparatus eliminates jumpers or dip switches conventionally used in an electrical device to provide an identity to the electrical device. An identity cable's identity terminals are pulled up to reference voltage Vcc by the attached electrical device that also senses the voltage at the identity terminals to determine identity. The identity cable's connector includes a "ground" terminal that is coupled to ground by the attached electrical device. Each identity terminal of a cable is couplable (i.e. can be coupled) inside the identity cable to ground or alternatively left unconnected, to thereby indicate a logic state "1" or a logic state "0" respectively. A system board's identity terminals can be pulled up to Vcc or coupled to ground by traces within the system board, thereby eliminating any ground terminals or couplings to voltage sources in an attached electrical device that are needed by an identity cable.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.