System for transmitting and receiving combination of compressed digital information and embedded strobe bit between computer and external device through parallel printer port of computer

• US 5,652,917 A
• Filed: 07/30/1996
• Issued: 07/29/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/1992
• Status: Expired

• Current Assignee: Video Associates Labs Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Video Associates Labs Incorporated
• Inventors: Maupin, Patrick, Martin, Tom
• Primary Examiner(s): Meky, Moustafa M.
• Application Number:
  US08/690,378
• Time in Patent Office: 364 Days
• Field of Search: 395/821-824, 395/828-830, 395/2, 395/500, 395/888, 395/825, 395/832, 395/856, 395/882, 395/885, 395/889, 395/890, 395/892, 395/2.1, 395/2.91
• US Class Current: 710/68
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3419 by assessing time
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3485 for I/O devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/385 for adaptation of a particular data processing system to different peripheral devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4269 using a handshaking protocol, e.g. Centronics connection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4273 using a clocked protocol
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/87 Monitoring of transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/88 Monitoring involving counting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2213/0004 Parallel ports, e.g. centronics
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/16 Sound input; Sound output speech processing G10L

Abstract

A unique combination of software and hardware provides any computer with a system for high speed digital data communications using the computer'"'"'s standard parallel printer port. The disclosed embodiment of the invention allows any computer with a standard parallel printer port to play or record digital audio sound allowing the computer to serve as a platform for multimedia presentations.

Claims

1. Apparatus for transmitting and receiving digital information through a parallel printer port, comprising:

a computer with a parallel printer port;

an external communications device connected to said computer through said parallel printer port, said external communications device transmits and receives digital information to and from said computer;

compressing means for compressing said digital information into compressed digital information;

an embedded strobe bit combined with said compressed digital information, said embedded strobe further comprises one bit of an eight bit data port of said parallel printer port and said compressed digital information comprises seven bits of said eight bit data port of said parallel printer port;

means for transmitting and receiving said combination of said compressed digital information and said embedded strobe bit between said computer and said external communications device through said parallel printer port; and

decompressing means for decompressing said compressed digital information.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said compressing means and said decompressing means use ADPCM technique.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising determining means for determining the maximum transmission speed of said parallel printer port.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising the block move instruction for multiple-byte transfers of digital information of said computer.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising storage medium of said computer used to store the digital information on said computer.

6. Apparatus for transmitting and receiving digital information through a parallel printer port, comprising:

a computer with a parallel printer port;

an external communications device connected to said computer through said parallel printer port;

embedding means for embedding an embedded strobe bit, said embedded strobe further comprises one bit of an eight bit data port of said parallel printer port;

compressing means for compressing digital information into compressed digital information, said compressed digital information further comprises seven bits of said eight bit data port of said parallel printer port;

combining means for combining said embedded strobe bit and said compressed digital information;

means for transmitting and receiving said combination of said compressed digital information and said embedded strobe bit between said computer and said external communications device through said parallel printer port; and

decompressing means for decompressing said compressed digital information.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said compressing means and said decompressing means use ADPCM technique.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 further comprising determining means for determining the maximum transmission speed of said parallel printer port.

9. The apparatus of claim 6 further comprising block move means for multiple-byte transfers of digital information of said computer.

10. The apparatus of claim 6 further comprising storage means for storing the digital information on said computer.

11. A method for transmitting and receiving digital information through a parallel printer port, comprising the steps of:

compressing digital information into compressed digital information, said compressed digital information further comprises seven bits of an eight bit data port of a parallel printer port;

combining said compressed digital information with an embedded strobe bit, said embedded strobe further comprises one bit of said eight bit data port of said parallel printer port;

transmitting and receiving the combination of said compressed digital information and said embedded strobe bit between a computer and an external communications device through said parallel printer port; and

decompressing said compressed digital information into said digital information.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said step of compressing and said step of decompressing use ADPCM technique.

13. The method of claim 11 further comprising the step of determining the maximum transmission speed of said parallel printer port.

14. The method of claim 11 further comprising the step of moving multiple-byte digital information using block move instruction of said computer.

15. The method of claim 11 further comprising the step of storing the digital information on a storage medium on said computer.

16. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for transmitting and receiving digital information through a parallel printer port, said method steps comprising the following steps:

compressing digital information into compressed digital information, said compressed digital information further comprises seven bits of an eight bit data port of a parallel printer port;

combining said compressed digital information with an embedded strobe bit, said embedded strobe further comprises one bit of said eight bit data port of said parallel printer port;

transmitting and receiving the combination of said compressed digital information and said embedded strobe bit between a computer and an external communications device through said parallel printer port; and

decompressing said compressed digital information into said digital information.

17. The program storage device of claim 16 wherein said step of compressing and said step of decompressing use ADPCM technique.

18. The program storage device of claim 16 further comprising the step of determining the maximum transmission speed of said parallel printer port.

19. The program storage device of claim 16 further comprising the step of moving multiple-byte digital information using the block move instruction of said computer.

20. The program storage device of claim 16 further comprising the step of storing said digital information on a storage medium on said computer.