System and method for bridging bus segments on a backplane and coupling single board computers to a backplane

• US 6,356,966 B1
• Filed: 09/12/2000
• Issued: 03/12/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Electronic Solutions Incorporated (Hunter Douglas N.V.)
• Original Assignee: APW, Ltd.
• Inventors: Yutkus, Julian J., Loach, Charles A
• Primary Examiner(s): Dharia, Rupal
• Application Number:
  US09/659,344
• Time in Patent Office: 546 Days
• Field of Search: 710/126, 710/128, 710/129, 710/101, 710/102, 439/82
• US Class Current: 439/78
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/409 Mechanical coupling back panels H05K7/1438

Abstract

A backplane assembly in accordance with cPCI bus architecture includes a backplane having a front side and a back side, a plurality of 7-row connectors, at least one 7-row shroud coupled to the front side of the backplane, and at least one 10-row connector. The plurality of 7-row connectors are coupled to the front side of the backplane, and each of the 7-row connectors includes a plurality of pins that extend from within an interior of the backplane out through the front side of the backplane into the respective 7-row connector. The at least one 10-row connector is coupled to the back side of the backplane, and includes a plurality of extended pins that extend from within the interior of the backplane out through the front side of the backplane into the at least one 7-row shroud and out through the back side of the backplane into the at least one 10-row connector.

Claims

1. A backplane assembly in accordance with cPCI bus architecture, the backplane assembly comprising:

a backplane having a first surface and a second surface;

a 10-row slot in the backplane, the 10-row slot including at least 9 rows of pin locations at which the backplane is configured to receive pins extending transversely into the backplane from at least one of the first surface of the backplane and the second surface of the backplane;

a plurality of 7-row slots in the backplane, each of the 7-row slots including 7 rows of pin locations at which the backplane is capable of receiving pins extending transversely into the backplane from at least the first surface of the backplane, wherein at least a first 7-row slot exists on a first side of the 10-row slot and at least a second 7-row slot exists on a second side of the 10-row slot;

a routing means for coupling at least some of the pin locations of the at least 9 rows of the 10-row slot with at least some of the pin locations of at least some of the 7 rows of at least some of the 7-row slots; and

a plurality of connectors positioned adjacent to at least some of the 7-row slots and the 10-row slot.

2. The backplane assembly of claim 1, wherein none of the pin locations of 3 adjacent rows of the at least 9 rows of the 10-row slot are coupled by the routing means with any of the pin locations of the first 7-row slot.

3. The backplane assembly of claim 1, wherein the pin locations of the first 7-row slot are primarily coupled to pin locations within a first subset of the pin locations of the at least 9 rows of the 10-row slot, and the pin locations of the second 7-row slot are primarily coupled to pin locations within a second subset of the pin locations of the at least 9 rows of the 10-row slot.

4. The backplane assembly of claim 1, wherein the plane assembly is configured to carry a first bus signal provided between the first 7-row slot and the 10-row slot, and a second bus signal provided between the second 7-row slot and the 10-row slot.

6. The backplane assembly of claim 1, wherein the plurality of connectors include:

a plurality of 7-row connectors coupled to the first surface of the backplane adjacent to respective 7-row slots, wherein each of the 7-row connectors includes a plurality of pins that extend from within an interior of the backplane out through the first surface of the backplane into the respective 7-row connector;

at least one 7-row shroud coupled to the first surface of the backplane adjacent to the 10-row slot;

at least one 10-row connector coupled to the second surface of the backplane adjacent to the 10-row slot, wherein the at least one 10-row connector includes a plurality of extended pins that extend from within the interior of the backplane out through the first surface of the backplane into the at least one 7-row shroud and out through the second surface of the backplane into the at least one 10-row connector.

7. The backplane assembly of claim 6, wherein each of the 7-row connectors and the at least one 7-row shroud are configured to receive a plug by which a system device is coupled to the backplane assembly.

8. The backplane assembly of claim 6, wherein the plurality of extended pins of the at least one 10-row connector that extend out through both the front surface and the second surface of the backplane are the pins located at 6 rows D-Y of pin locations within the 10-row slot.

9. The backplane assembly of claim 6, wherein the at least one 10-row connector includes a plurality of normal pins that extend from within the interior of the backplane out through the second surface of the backplane into the at least one 10-row connector.

10. The backplane assembly of claim 9, wherein the plurality of normal pins that extend out through the second surface of the backplane are the pins located at 3 rows A-C of pin locations within the 10-row slot.

11. The backplane assembly of claim 9, wherein the at least one 10-row connector includes at least one row that is not populated.

12. The backplane assembly of claim 9, wherein the at least one 10-row connector is configured to receive a plug of a bridge.

13. The backplane assembly of claim 12, wherein the backplane is configured to provide a signal to the bridge by way of the plurality of extended pins and to receive a modified signal from the bridge by way of the plurality of normal pins.

14. The backplane assembly of claim 13, wherein the backplane is capable of providing the signal to the bridge and at the same time capable of providing the signal to a system element coupled to the at least one 7-row shroud by way of the plurality of extended pins.

15. The backplane assembly of claim 1:

a plurality of 7-row connectors coupled to the first surface of the backplane adjacent to respective 7-row slots, wherein each of the 7-row connectors includes a plurality of pins that extend from within an interior of the backplane out through the first surface of the backplane into the respective 7-row connector;

a 10-row connector coupled to the first surface of the backplane adjacent to the 10-row slot, wherein the 10-row connector includes a plurality of pins that extend from within the interior of the backplane out through the front surface of the backplane into the 10-row connector.

16. The backplane assembly of claim 15, wherein the 10-row connector is configured to receive a plug of an SBC.

17. The backplane assembly of claim 15, wherein the plurality of pins of the 10-row connector includes a first set of pins along rows A-C and a second set of pins along rows D-Y of the 10-row slot.

18. The backplane assembly of claim 17, wherein the backplane is configured to receive a first bus signal from the SBC by way of the first set of pins and to receive a second bus signal from the SBC by way of the second set of pins.

5. A method of providing a first bus signal and a second bus signal from a SBC to a backplane assembly, the method comprising:

providing a backplane with a first slot having at least 9 rows of pin locations including a first set of 6 rows of pin locations and a second set of 3 rows of pin locations;

providing on the backplane second and third slots respectively positioned on first and second sides of the first slot, the second and third slots each having at least 7 rows of pin locations;

attaching a 10-row connector to the first slot along a front side of the backplane, wherein the 10-row connector includes a first set of 6 rows of pins and a second set of 3 rows of pins that are respectively coupled to the first and second sets of pin locations;

attaching at least one 7-row connector to each of the second and third slots;

providing a set of routing connections within the backplane coupling the first set of 6 rows of pin locations and the second set of 3 rows of pin locations to the at least 7 rows of pin locations at the second and third slots, respectively,

wherein the backplane assembly is capable of being coupled to the SBC at the 10-row connector, receiving the first bus signal at the first set of 6 rows of pins and receiving the second bus signal at the second set of 3 rows of pins.