Multidirectional repeater for data transmission between electrically isolated and/or physically different signal transmission media
First Claim
1. A multidirectional repeater for signal transmission between a plurality of signal transmission media which are the same or physically different from one another, said plurality of signal transmission media being electrically isolated from one another, a common protocol and data rate being used across said plurality of signal transmission media, the multidirectional repeater comprising:
- a signal transmission bus;
a plurality of switching means, each one of said plurality of switching means being connected between a corresponding one of said plurality of signal transmission media and said signal transmission bus;
control means responsive to data signals being present on one of said plurality of signal transmission media for providing a receive enable signal to a corresponding one of said plurality of switching means, said control means being response to the absence of said data signals on said one of said plurality of signal transmission means for removing said receive enable signal;
wherein said corresponding one of said plurality of switching means is responsive to said receive enable signal for providing a signal path for transmission of said data signals between said corresponding one of said plurality of signal transmission media and said signal transmission bus, and wherein said corresponding one of said plurality of switching means is responsive to said receive enable signal not being provided by said control means for preventing transmission of said data signals between said corresponding one of said plurality of signal transmission media and said signal transmission bus; and
a plurality of interface means each having a receive terminal, a transmit terminal and a transmit enable terminal, each interface means being connected between a respective one of said plurality of switching means and a respective one of said plurality of signal transmission media via said receive terminal, each interface means being connected between said signal transmission bus and said respective one of said plurality of signal transmission media via said transmit terminal, and each transmit enable terminal being connected to said control means, said receive terminal providing said data signals from said respective one of said plurality of signal transmission media to said signal transmission bus via said respective one of said plurality of switching means, said transmit terminal transmitting said data signals from said signal transmission bus to said respective one of said plurality of signal transmission media when said transmit terminal is enabled, and said transmit enable terminal being responsive to a transmit enable signal provided by said control means for enabling said transmit terminal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a signal transmission network, such as a data network, having a multiple access bus topology (12) in which many nodes reside and communicate over the same bus, and wherein electrically isolated and/or physically different signal transmission media (17,18,19) are encompassed by the bus (12), and wherein a common protocol is used across the entire network; a multidirectional repeater (10) repeats signals from any one of the signal transmission media to one or more of the other signal transmission media, thereby providing a contiguous logical bus across the different signal transmission media. The multidirectional repeater (10) uses logic transitions, e.g., the presence or absence of data, a change in a data or logic state, the presence or absence of a carrier, a change in a carrier frequency, or any other suitable indication that data is present on one of the signal transmission media (17,18,19) for determining when to repeat signals from that signal transmission media to other signal transmission media and for determining when to stop repeating signals. An interface (21,22,23) is provided between each signal transmission media (17,18,19) and the multidirectional repeater (10) to disable the transmission of data to the bus (12) so that only signals from one signal transmission media are being repeated at a time. The multidirectional repeater (10) determines which data to repeat when data is available on one or more signal transmission media.
37 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A multidirectional repeater for signal transmission between a plurality of signal transmission media which are the same or physically different from one another, said plurality of signal transmission media being electrically isolated from one another, a common protocol and data rate being used across said plurality of signal transmission media, the multidirectional repeater comprising:
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a signal transmission bus; a plurality of switching means, each one of said plurality of switching means being connected between a corresponding one of said plurality of signal transmission media and said signal transmission bus; control means responsive to data signals being present on one of said plurality of signal transmission media for providing a receive enable signal to a corresponding one of said plurality of switching means, said control means being response to the absence of said data signals on said one of said plurality of signal transmission means for removing said receive enable signal; wherein said corresponding one of said plurality of switching means is responsive to said receive enable signal for providing a signal path for transmission of said data signals between said corresponding one of said plurality of signal transmission media and said signal transmission bus, and wherein said corresponding one of said plurality of switching means is responsive to said receive enable signal not being provided by said control means for preventing transmission of said data signals between said corresponding one of said plurality of signal transmission media and said signal transmission bus; and a plurality of interface means each having a receive terminal, a transmit terminal and a transmit enable terminal, each interface means being connected between a respective one of said plurality of switching means and a respective one of said plurality of signal transmission media via said receive terminal, each interface means being connected between said signal transmission bus and said respective one of said plurality of signal transmission media via said transmit terminal, and each transmit enable terminal being connected to said control means, said receive terminal providing said data signals from said respective one of said plurality of signal transmission media to said signal transmission bus via said respective one of said plurality of switching means, said transmit terminal transmitting said data signals from said signal transmission bus to said respective one of said plurality of signal transmission media when said transmit terminal is enabled, and said transmit enable terminal being responsive to a transmit enable signal provided by said control means for enabling said transmit terminal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification