Multiple interface input/output port for a peripheral device
First Claim
1. A peripheral device having apparatus that enables communication between an interface bus of the peripheral device and any one of a plurality of different types of interface buses that may be provided in a host computer, each of said different types of interface buses comprising a plurality of lines, said apparatus comprising:
- a connector;
an interface bus detection circuit electrically coupled to said connector and operable, upon connection of said connector to an interface bus of said host computer, to detect the type of the interface bus to which the connector is connected based upon characteristics of selected lines of each of said plurality of different types of interface buses wherein said selected lines have a purpose other than bus type identification; and
a plurality of interface adapters each electrically coupled between said connector and the interface bus of the peripheral device, each of said interface adapters being operable to enable communication between the interface bus of said peripheral device and a respective one of said plurality of different types of interface buses that may be provided in said host computer, communications between the host computer and the peripheral device being routed through one of said interface adapters based upon the detected type of the interface bus to which said connector is connected.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A multiple interface input/output port allows communication between an interface bus of a peripheral device and any one of a plurality of different types of interface buses that may be provided in a host computer. An interface bus detection circuit detects which type of interface bus the peripheral device is connected to on the host computer, and communications are then routed through an appropriate interface adapter that enables communication between the interface buses of the peripheral device and host computer. The interface bus detection circuit compares signal levels on selected ones of the lines of the interface bus of the host computer to a reference potential to determine which of the selected lines are grounded. The circuit then identifies the type of interface bus to which it is connected based on the determination of which of the selected lines of the interface bus are grounded.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A peripheral device having apparatus that enables communication between an interface bus of the peripheral device and any one of a plurality of different types of interface buses that may be provided in a host computer, each of said different types of interface buses comprising a plurality of lines, said apparatus comprising:
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a connector; an interface bus detection circuit electrically coupled to said connector and operable, upon connection of said connector to an interface bus of said host computer, to detect the type of the interface bus to which the connector is connected based upon characteristics of selected lines of each of said plurality of different types of interface buses wherein said selected lines have a purpose other than bus type identification; and a plurality of interface adapters each electrically coupled between said connector and the interface bus of the peripheral device, each of said interface adapters being operable to enable communication between the interface bus of said peripheral device and a respective one of said plurality of different types of interface buses that may be provided in said host computer, communications between the host computer and the peripheral device being routed through one of said interface adapters based upon the detected type of the interface bus to which said connector is connected. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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13. A peripheral device having a Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) bus for communicating with a host computer, and having apparatus for enabling communication between the SCSI bus of the peripheral device and an interface bus of the host computer, wherein the interface bus of the host computer may comprise either a SCSI bus or a parallel port interface bus, each of which comprises a plurality of lines, said apparatus comprising:
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a connector; an interface bus detection circuit electrically coupled to said connector and operable, upon connection of said connector to an interface bus of said host computer, to detect whether the interface bus of the host computer comprises a SCSI bus or a parallel port interface bus, based upon characteristics of selected lines of each of said SCSI and parallel port buses wherein said selected lines have a purpose other than bus type identification; a Parallel Port-to-SCSI (PP-SCSI) adapter electrically coupled between said connector and the SCSI bus of the peripheral device for enabling communication between the SCSI bus of the peripheral device and the interface bus of the host computer when the interface bus of the host computer is detected to be a parallel port interface bus; and a repeater circuit operable to redrive signals transmitted, via said connector, between the SCSI bus of the peripheral device and the interface bus of the host computer when the interface bus of the host computer is detected to be a SCSI bus. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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32. A circuit for identifying an interface bus from a plurality of different known types of interface buses, each of said plurality of different known types of interface buses comprising a plurality of lines, the lines of each different type of interface bus having known characteristics that distinguish said each different type of interface bus from the others of said plurality of different types of interface buses, said circuit comprising:
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means for comparing characteristics of selected ones of the lines of said interface bus to the known characteristics of those lines for each of said different types of interface buses wherein said selected ones of the lines have a characteristic other than bus type identification; and means for indicating the type of said interface bus based on the comparison of said known characteristics.
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33. A method of identifying an interface bus from a plurality of different known types of interface buses, each of said plurality of different known types of interface buses comprising a plurality of lines, the lines of each different type of interface bus having known characteristics that distinguish said each different type of interface bus from the others of said plurality of different types of interface buses, said method comprising the steps of:
comparing characteristics of selected ones of the lines of said interface bus to the known characteristics of those lines for each of said different types of interface buses wherein said selected ones of the lines have a characteristic other than bus type identification; and
indicating the type of said interface bus based on the comparison of said known characteristics.
Specification