Apparatus for bridging non-compatible network architectures
First Claim
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1. A bridging apparatus for bridging data arriving at an interface between first and second non-compatible communication networks, comprising:
- a) a processor for processing said data arriving at said bridging apparatus in accordance with a set of processing instructions;
b) a memory in communication with said processor within which said set of processing instructions is stored;
c) a first port for transferring said data to/from a node of said first communication network in accordance with said processing instructions;
d) a second port for transferring said data to/from a node of said second communication network in accordance with said processing instructions;
e) a third port connected to one of the first and second non-compatible communication networks for asynchronously transferring said data to/from one of the first and second ports for transferring data to the communication network connected thereto in accordance with said processing instructions; and
f) a mode switch for controlling the transfer of data from the third port to one of the first and second ports.
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Abstract
A bridging apparatus facilitates communication between processors across networks having incompatible protocols and linking the processors. The bridging apparatus interfaces each processor to a respective incompatible network, and processes data in two-way communication across the interfaces for conversion from one incompatible protocol to another.
141 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A bridging apparatus for bridging data arriving at an interface between first and second non-compatible communication networks, comprising:
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a) a processor for processing said data arriving at said bridging apparatus in accordance with a set of processing instructions; b) a memory in communication with said processor within which said set of processing instructions is stored; c) a first port for transferring said data to/from a node of said first communication network in accordance with said processing instructions; d) a second port for transferring said data to/from a node of said second communication network in accordance with said processing instructions; e) a third port connected to one of the first and second non-compatible communication networks for asynchronously transferring said data to/from one of the first and second ports for transferring data to the communication network connected thereto in accordance with said processing instructions; and f) a mode switch for controlling the transfer of data from the third port to one of the first and second ports. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system comprising:
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first and second bridging apparatus for facilitating communication between a source processing terminal and a target processing terminal across a communication network that is not compatible with said terminals, each of the first and second bridging apparatus including; means for asynchronously transferring data between the first and second bridging apparatus; and a mode switch for controlling the routing of the asynchronous transferring of data to predetermined ports; wherein said source and target processing terminals are connected, respectively, to said first and second bridging apparatus, such that said first bridging apparatus transfers data between said source processing terminal and said communication network and said second bridging apparatus transfers data between said communication network and said target processing terminal for facilitating packet assembler/disassembler and communication network bridging functionality. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A communication apparatus comprising:
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a network interface including; a local area network (LAN) universal synchronous/asynchronous receiver/transmitter (USART) for interfacing with a LAN; and a wide area network (WAN) USART for interfacing with a WAN; an asynchronous USART for asynchronously interfacing with either the LAN or the WAN; and a mode switch for controlling the interfacing of the asynchronous USART with one of the LAN or the WAN; and means, connected to the network interface, for adjusting protocol differences within data streams passing through the network interface between one of; (1) a first processing terminal and a node of the wide area network circuit; (2) an asynchronous processing terminal and the node of said wide area network circuit; and (3) the asynchronous terminal and said first processing terminal. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
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24. An apparatus for bridging data arriving at an interface between incompatible communication networks, comprising:
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a) a processor for receiving and processing the data; b) a plurality of level converters, including first, second, and third level converters, for converting data signal levels of the received data to converted signal levels for processing by the processor; c) a plurality of universal synchronous/asynchronous receiver/transmitters (USARTs) for interfacing with the first and second incompatible communication networks, including; a first USART for interfacing with a local area network (LAN) of the incompatible communication networks through the first level converter; a second USART for interfacing with a wide area network (WAN) of the incompatible communication networks through the second level converter; and a third USART for asynchronously interfacing with either the LAN or the WAN for transferring the received data between incompatible communication networks. - View Dependent Claims (25)
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Specification