Apparatus and method for coupling multiple peripheral devices to a single port of a computer
US5991830A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 30, 1997 |
| Grant date | Nov 23, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 30, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F12/0684
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A system for allowing a peripheral device to be inserted directly into a port of a computer system while the computer system is powered on. The insertion of a peripheral device into the computer system port is automatically detected, and a configuration operation is automatically performed when insertion of the peripheral device is detected. The system also allows a plurality of peripheral devices to be connected to a single port of a computer system by automatically determining the number of peripheral devices and assigning a unique address to each of the peripheral devices. The peripheral device may have a host port for communicating with the computer system, a slave port for connecting to a slave device, and a device manager which identifies if a slave device is connected.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.