MEDICAL INTERFACE
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An interface system adapted to provide a communications interface between a processing unit and one or more sensor units including a low power message channel between the processing unit and the sensor unit, which is always active, and a high speed, higher power data channel, which is active only when sensor data is required to be transmitted from the sensor unit to the processing unit.
19 Citations
34 Claims
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1-17. -17. (canceled)
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18. An interface system providing a communications interface between a processing unit and one or more sensor units including
a first interface termination unit in direct electrical contact with the processing unit, a second interface termination unit associated with the sensor unit; -
a message channel being a communications channel carrying message data at a first data rate between the processing unit and the sensor unit, said message channel being active at least at substantially all times that the processing unit is active, a data channel being a communications channel carrying sensor data at a second data rate connecting the first and second interface termination units; said data channel being active substantially only when sensor data is required to be transmitted from the sensor unit to the processing unit; said second data rate being substantially greater than said first data rate. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 33, 34)
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29. A method of providing an interface between a processing unit and a sensor unit including the steps of
providing a message channel being a communications channel carrying message data between the sensor unit and the processing unit at a first data rate, said message channel being active at substantially all times that the processing unit is active, providing a data channel being a communications channel carrying sensor data between the sensor unit and the processing unit at a second data rate; -
said data channel being active substantially only when sensor data is required to be transmitted from the sensor unit to the processing unit; said second data rate being substantially greater than said first data rate, the processing unit interrogating the sensor unit via the message channel as to the configuration of the data channel required by the sensor unit for communication of sensor data to the processing unit, the processing unit reconfiguring parameters of the data channel to accord with the requirements of the sensor unit. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32)
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Specification