Apparatus and method for interfacing between a communications channel and a processor for data transmission and reception
First Claim
1. An interface apparatus for interfacing between a processor and a communications channel, the processor operable in data terminal equipment having a communications application program capable of performing modem functions of training, equalization, encoding, and decoding, the communications application program being responsive to interrupt signals from the interface apparatus the interface apparatus comprising:
- a channel interface circuit coupleable to the communications channel to receive an incoming data signal and to transmit an outgoing data signal;
a memory;
a codec coupled to the memory and further coupled to the channel interface circuit to periodically sample the incoming data signal at a first determinate frequency to form a sequence of incoming sampled data and to transfer the sequence of incoming sampled data to the memory, and to receive a sequence of outgoing digital data from the memory and to convert the sequence of outgoing digital data to the outgoing data signal;
an interrupt signal generator responsive to data conditions in the memory to generate a first interrupt signal and to transmit the first interrupt signal to the processor, the first interrupt signal indicating one of a first and second data condition, the first condition being a presence in the memory of a first predetermined quantity of digital data for processing by the communications application program and the second condition being an absence of a second predetermined quantity of digital data stored in the memory for transmission on the channel, such that the communications application program can respond to the first condition by removing data from the memory to perform modem functions thereon and can respond to the second condition by writing data to the memory, the data having been processed by modem functions in the communications application program; and
an electromechanical interface circuit coupled to the memory, to the interrupt signal generator, and to the processor for data transfer between the processor and the memory and for transmission of the first interrupt signal to the processor.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus (101) and method for interfacing between a processor (103) and a communications channel (105), the processor operable in data terminal equipment (102) such as a computer having a communications application program, to provide for data transmission and reception over a communications channel (105), utilizing the computer processor without additional or redundant microprocessor or digital signal processor components. The apparatus and method provide for data transfer between the interface apparatus (101) and the communications channel (105) at a first, determinate frequency corresponding to a specific data transmission rate. The apparatus and method provide for data transfer between the interface apparatus (101) and the processor (103) at a second, indeterminate frequency, and provides for interim data storage in memory (115) between data transmission (or data reception) and data processing, such as modulation and demodulation, by the computer processor (103). The apparatus and method further provide for generating an interrupt signal to the processor to indicate the presence of received data for processing and the absence of digital data for transmission.
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Citations
43 Claims
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1. An interface apparatus for interfacing between a processor and a communications channel, the processor operable in data terminal equipment having a communications application program capable of performing modem functions of training, equalization, encoding, and decoding, the communications application program being responsive to interrupt signals from the interface apparatus the interface apparatus comprising:
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a channel interface circuit coupleable to the communications channel to receive an incoming data signal and to transmit an outgoing data signal; a memory; a codec coupled to the memory and further coupled to the channel interface circuit to periodically sample the incoming data signal at a first determinate frequency to form a sequence of incoming sampled data and to transfer the sequence of incoming sampled data to the memory, and to receive a sequence of outgoing digital data from the memory and to convert the sequence of outgoing digital data to the outgoing data signal; an interrupt signal generator responsive to data conditions in the memory to generate a first interrupt signal and to transmit the first interrupt signal to the processor, the first interrupt signal indicating one of a first and second data condition, the first condition being a presence in the memory of a first predetermined quantity of digital data for processing by the communications application program and the second condition being an absence of a second predetermined quantity of digital data stored in the memory for transmission on the channel, such that the communications application program can respond to the first condition by removing data from the memory to perform modem functions thereon and can respond to the second condition by writing data to the memory, the data having been processed by modem functions in the communications application program; and an electromechanical interface circuit coupled to the memory, to the interrupt signal generator, and to the processor for data transfer between the processor and the memory and for transmission of the first interrupt signal to the processor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of interfacing between a processor and a communications channel for data reception, the processor operable in data terminal equipment having a communications application program, capable of performing modem functions of training, equalization, encoding, and decoding, the communications application program being responsive to interrupt signals, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) receiving a data signal from the communications channel to form a received data signal; (b) periodically sampling the received data signal at a first determinate frequency to form a sequence of received sampled data; (c) storing the sequence of received sampled data in a memory; (d) generating an interrupt signal to the processor to indicate the presence of received sampled data in the memory; and (e) periodically transferring at a second indeterminate frequency the received sampled data from the memory to the processor so that the communications application program executing thereon may process the received sampled data according to modem functions of the communications application program. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
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22. A method of interfacing between a processor and a communications channel for data transmission, the processor operable in data terminal equipment having a communications application program, capable of performing modem functions of training, equalization, encoding, and decoding, the communications application program being responsive to interrupt signals, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) periodically transferring at a first frequency a sequence of digital data from the processor to a memory, the digital data from the processor having been processed by a modem function of the communications application program executing on the processor; (b) storing the sequence of digital data in the memory; (c) periodically transferring at a second frequency the sequence of digital data to a codec to generate an outgoing data signal; (d) transmitting the outgoing data signal on the communications channel; and (e) generating an interrupt signal to the processor to indicate that the memory is capable of having stored therein more digital data from the processor. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A method of interfacing between a processor and a communications channel for data transmission and reception, the processor operable in data terminal equipment having a communications application program, capable of performing modem functions of training, equalization, encoding, and decoding, the communications application program being responsive to interrupt signals, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) receiving a data signal from the communications channel to form a received data signal; (b) periodically sampling the received data signal at a first frequency to form a sequence of received sampled data; (c) storing the sequence of received sampled data in a memory; (d) periodically transferring at a second frequency the received sampled data from the memory to the processor; (e) periodically transferring at the second frequency a sequence of digital data from the processor to a memory; (f) storing the sequence of digital data in the memory; (g) periodically transferring at the first frequency the sequence of digital data to a codec to generate an outgoing data signal; (h) transmitting the outgoing data signal on the communications channel; and (i) generating an interrupt signal to the processor indicating one of a first and second data condition, the first condition being a presence in the memory of a first predetermined quantity of digital data for processing by the communications application program and the second condition being an absence of a second predetermined quantity of digital data stored in the memory for transmission on the channel, such that the communications application program can respond to the first condition by removing data from the memory to perform modem functions thereon and can respond to the second condition by writing data to the memory, the data having been processed by modem functions in the communications application program. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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Specification