Method and apparatus for sharing a universal serial bus device among multiple computers by switching
US6546450B1 · kind B1 · utility
24Cited by
6References
29Claims
0Family size
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 22, 1999 |
| Grant date | Apr 8, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 22, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F13/4022
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus for allowing multiple electronic systems to share a Universal Serial Bus (USB) device is disclosed.In one embodiment, the electronic systems and the USB device are connected to a switcher. The switcher performs bus enumeration to acquire USB device information and presents a number of images of the acquired USB device information to the electronic systems. The switcher also maintains logical links between the connected electronic systems and the USB device. Lastly, the switcher selects one of the connected electronic systems to communicate USB data packets with the USB device.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.