Dual personal computer architecture peripheral adapter board and circuit

• US 5,162,675 A
• Filed: 04/14/1989
• Issued: 11/10/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Attachmate Corporation (Open Text Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Digital Communications Associates, Inc. (Open Text Corporation)
• Inventors: Cavaness, Richard D., Snyder, Gail R., Olsen, Derek S.
• Primary Examiner(s): HUDSPETH, DAVID R
• Application Number:
  US07/339,186
• Time in Patent Office: 1,306 Days
• Field of Search: 307/465, 307/276, 307/303.1, 307/475, 361/395, 361/399, 361/413, 361/415, 439/59, 439/62, 439/65, 364/200 MS File, 364/900 MS File
• US Class Current: 326/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/409 Mechanical coupling back panels H05K7/1438
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0286 Programmable, customizable or modifiable circuits by programmable non-printed jumper connections H05K3/222
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/117 Pads along the edge of rigid circuit boards, e.g. for pluggable connectors
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/141 One or more single auxiliary printed circuits mounted on a main printed circuit, e.g. modules, adapters H05K1/142 and H05K1/147 take precedence

Abstract

A peripheral adapter board and circuit which is capable for operation with two different personal computer bus architectures is disclosed. The preferred peripheral function for the board and circuit is a terminal emulator, which allows a personal computer into which the board is plugged to function as a terminal for a mainframe or minicomputer. Edge connectors or contacts are provided on opposite side edges of the board; each one of the edge connectors is compatible with a different computer bus. The adapter board may be flipped over to plug into either computer bus. A removable, repositionable connector board assembly is provided at one end of the board, for mounting communications connectors in a position accessible from the back panel of a host personal computer. The connector board may be repositioned to maintain the orientation of the communications connectors with respect to the personal computer back panel when the adapter board is flipped over to plug into a different computer bus. Circuitry is provided for detecting the particular computer bus into which the adapter board is plugged, and for providing appropriate address, data, and control signals associated with the selected computer bus.

Claims

1. A circuit board for use for systems having a mother board for inclusion of additional circuit boards in the systems, the interfaces between the mother boards and the additional circuit boards of first and second systems conforming to first and second mutually incompatible interface standards, comprising:

circuit board means for locating and connecting circuitry and for connection to a mother board,

said circuit board means having a first interface means for connecting said circuit board means to the first interface standard, said first interface means being located on a side of said circuit board means,

said circuit board means having a second interface means for connecting said circuit board means to the second interface standard, said second interface means being located on a side of said circuit board means, and

means for interconnecting the circuitry located on said circuit board means to cooperate with the active interface standard,

said interconnecting means includes means for sensing which of said connecting means is active and producing an output indicative thereof.

2. The circuit board of claim 1, wherein said sensing means utilizes a power supply line of said interface means.

3. The circuit board of claim 1, said interconnecting means further including means for enabling portions of circuitry and disabling other portions of circuitry located on said circuit board means in response to said output of said sensing means.

4. The circuit board of claim 3, wherein said means for enabling and disabling includes a programmable logic device connected to said circuitry located on said circuit board means and means for providing input data to said programmable logic device to allow said programmable logic device to enable and disable said portions of said circuitry.

5. The circuit board of claim 4, wherein said means for providing input data to said programmable logic device includes a read-only memory.

6. A peripheral interface adaptor operative in a plurality of mutually incompatible computer system bus architectures, comprising:

peripheral function circuit means for carrying out a peripheral function for a computer system with which said peripheral interface adaptor is operatively associated;

first connector means for connecting to a first one of a plurality of computer bus architectures;

second connector means for connecting to a second one of said plurality of said computer bus architectures; and

means for detecting whether said first connector means is operatively associated with a computer bus or whether said second connector means is operatively associated with a computer bus and for providing a bus architecture identification signal corresponding to the detection of either said first bus architecture or said second bus architecture in said operatively associated computer system.

7. The peripheral interface adaptor of claim 6, wherein said first computer bus architecture is IBM Personal Computer Architecture (PCA) and wherein said second computer bus architecture is IBM Micro Channel Architecture (MCA).

8. The peripheral interface adaptor of claim 6, wherein said peripheral function circuit means comprises a terminal emulator.

9. The peripheral interface adaptor of claim 6, wherein said peripheral function circuit means comprises a dedicated programmable data processor, and further comprising program memory means for storing instructions for said programmable data processor.

10. The peripheral interface adaptor of claim 9, wherein said program memory means comprises random access memory means operable to receive said instructions from said operatively associated computer system.