Systems and methods for determining the configuration of electronic connections

• US RE45,050 E1
• Filed: 09/14/2011
• Issued: 07/29/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Terlizzi, Jeffrey J., Rabu, Stanley, Kalayjian, Nicholas R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Koval, Melissa
• Assistant Examiner(s): Baldridge, Benjamin M
• Application Number:
  US13/232,989
• Time in Patent Office: 1,049 Days
• Field of Search: 324/538, 324/527, 370/201, 710/16, 710/38
• US Class Current: 324/538
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/385 for adaptation of a particular data processing system to different peripheral devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/32 Carrier systems characterised by combinations of two or more of the types covered by groups H04L27/02, H04L27/10, H04L27/18 or H04L27/26

Abstract

Systems and methods for determining the configuration of a connection between two devices by measuring an electrical characteristic are provided. Using the measured electrical characteristic, a device is able to select an appropriate communication interface, such as serial, Universal Serial Bus (USB), FireWire, parallel, PS/2, etc., and configure itself appropriately. Systems and methods which determine the physical orientation of a connector with respect to another connector may also be provided alone or in combination with such systems and methods for selecting communication interfaces. The physical orientation of a connector can be determined by measuring an electrical characteristic and a device can then configure itself appropriately. In accordance with the principles of the present invention, device designs can decrease in size and cost as well as simplify operation for the end-user.

Claims

1. A method of selecting a serial communication interface comprising:

connecting a plurality of lines between a first device and a second device;

electrically coupling only a subset of the plurality of lines to circuitry within the second device;

measuring a characteristic of at least one line in the subset of the plurality of lines;

selecting an appropriate serial communication interface based on the measured characteristic;

configuring the second device so that it is operable to communicate using the selected serial communication interface, wherein configuring the second device comprises configuring a processor in the second device; and

electrically coupling all of the plurality of lines to circuitry in the second device after the selecting.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the measured characteristic is voltage.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the selected serial communication interface is a Universal Serial Bus interface.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the selected serial communication interface is an RS-232 serial interface.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein configuring the second device comprises:

routing lines between the first device and the second device according to the selected serial communication interface.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the lines from the first device are routed to input/output lines of a processor in the second device which is operable to process the selected serial communication interface.

7. The method of claim 5 where in the lines from the first device are routed to circuitry operable to process the selected serial communication interface.

8. A method of determining the physical orientation of two connectors with respect to each other comprising:

connecting a first device to a second device by physically coupling a first connector to a second connector, wherein the connectors are capable of being coupled together in more than one physical orientation, and wherein connecting comprises electrically coupling a subset of a plurality of lines between the first and second devices, the subset being just the lines necessary to measure a characteristic of at least one line in the connection between the first connector and the second connector;

measuring the characteristic;

determining the physical orientation of the first connector with respect to the second connector based on the measured characteristic; and

routing lines from the first device to the second device based on the determined physical orientation.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the measured characteristic is voltage.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the connectors comprise an odd number of lines and connecting comprises routing one of the lines between the first device and the second device the same way regardless of the determined physical orientation.

11. A method of determining the physical orientation of two connectors with respect to each other and selecting a serial communication interface comprising:

connecting a first device to a second device by physically coupling a first connector to a second connector, wherein the connectors are capable of being coupled together in more than one physical orientation, and wherein connecting comprises electrically coupling a subset of a plurality of lines between the first and second devices, the subset being just the lines necessary to measure a characteristic of at least one line in the connection between the first connector and the second connector;

measuring the characteristic;

determining the physical orientation of the first connector with respect to the second connector based on the measured characteristic;

selecting an appropriate serial communication interface based on the measured characteristic;

configuring the second device so that it is operable to communicate using the selected serial communication interface, wherein configuring the second device comprises configuring a processor in the second device; and

routing lines from the first device to appropriate lines in the second device based on the determined physical orientation.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the measured characteristic is voltage potential.

13. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

measuring a second characteristic of at least one line in the connection between the first connector and the second connector.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the second measured characteristic is used to select an appropriate serial communication interface.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein the selected serial communication interface is a Universal Serial Bus interface.

16. The method of claim 11 wherein the selected serial communication interface is an RS-232 serial interface.

17. The method of claim 11 wherein configuring the second device comprises:

routing lines between the first device and the second device according to the selected serial communication interface.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the lines from the first device are routed to input/output lines of a processor in the second device which is operable to process the selected serial communication interface.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the lines from the first device are routed to circuitry operable to process the selected serial communication interface.

20. An apparatus for selecting a serial communication interface comprising:

a connector for coupling the apparatus with another device;

one or more contacts for physically connecting lines between the apparatus and the other device;

detector circuitry for measuring an electrical characteristic of at least one of the one or more contacts;

switch circuitry operable to connect at least one of the one or more contacts to other circuitry in one or more configurations;

control circuitry operable to interface the detector circuitry with the switch circuitry, wherein the detector circuitry selects a serial communication interface based on the measured characteristic and the control circuitry instructs the switch circuitry to configure itself accordingly; and

a processor that is electrically coupled with the control circuitry, wherein the control circuitry instructs the processor to configure itself based on the selected serial communication interface.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the measured characteristic is voltage.

22. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the measured characteristic is resistance.

23. An apparatus for determining the physical orientation of a connector comprising:

a connector for coupling the apparatus with another device;

one or more contacts for physically connecting lines between the apparatus and the other device;

detector circuitry for measuring an electrical characteristic of at least one of the one or more contacts;

switch circuitry operable to connect at least one of the one or more contacts to other circuitry in one or more configurations;

control circuitry operable to interface the detector circuitry with the switch circuitry, wherein the detector circuitry determines the physical orientation of the connector based on the measured characteristic and the control circuitry instructs the switch circuitry to configure itself accordingly; and

a processor that is electrically coupled with the control circuitry, wherein the control circuitry instructs the processor to configure itself based on the determined physical orientation of the connector.

24. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the measured characteristic is voltage.

25. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the measured characteristic is resistance.

26. An apparatus for determining the physical orientation of a serial connector and selecting a serial communication interface comprising:

a connector for coupling the apparatus with another device;

one or more contacts for physically connecting lines between the apparatus and the other device;

detector circuitry for measuring an electrical characteristic of at least one of the one or more contacts;

switch circuitry operable to connect at least one of the one or more contacts to other circuitry in one or more configurations;

control circuitry operable to interface the detector circuitry with the switch circuitry, wherein the detector circuitry determines the physical orientation of the connector and selects a serial communication interface based on the measured characteristic and the control circuitry instructs the switch circuitry to configure itself accordingly; and

a processor that is electrically coupled with the control circuitry, wherein the control circuitry instructs the processor to configure itself based on the determined physical orientation of the connector and the selected serial communication interface.

27. The apparatus of claim 26 wherein the measured characteristic is voltage.

28. The apparatus of claim 26 wherein the measured characteristic is resistance.

29. An apparatus for determining the physical orientation of a connector comprising:

a first connector for coupling the apparatus with another device, the first connector including a plurality of contacts for physically connecting lines between the apparatus and the other device;

detector circuitry for monitoring a subset of at least one and fewer than all the plurality of contacts to determine if the first connector is mated with a second connector in a first physical orientation or a second physical orientation;

switch circuitry operable to connect at least some of the plurality of contacts to other circuitry in the apparatus in a first configuration when the detector circuitry determines the first and second connectors are mated in the first physical orientation and in a second configuration when the detector circuitry determines the first and second connectors are mated in the second physical orientation;

control circuitry operable to interface the detector circuitry with the switch circuitry, wherein the control circuitry instructs the switch circuitry to configure itself according to the physical orientation determined by the detector circuitry; and

a processor that is electrically coupled with the control circuitry, wherein the control circuitry instructs the processor to configure itself based on the determined physical orientation of the connector.

30. The apparatus set forth in claim 29 wherein the switch circuitry is configured to, when connecting at least some of the plurality of contacts according to the first configuration, electrically connect a first data line within the first device to a first contact in the first connector and electrically connect a second data line within the first device to a second contact in the first connector, and when connecting at least some of the plurality of contacts according to the second configuration, electrically connect the first data line in the first device to the second contact in the first connector and electrically connect the second data line in the first device to the first contact in the first connector.

31. The apparatus set forth in claim 30 wherein the switch circuitry is further configured to electrically connect a third line within the first device to a third contact positioned between the first and second contacts in both the first and second configurations.

32. The apparatus set forth in claim 30 wherein the switch circuitry is further configured to set the first and second data lines within the first device to an open state prior to prior to electrically connecting the first and second data lines to either the first or second contacts according to either the first or second configurations.

33. The apparatus set forth in claim 30 wherein the detector circuit is configured to determine that the first connector is in the first orientation if the detected characteristic matches an expected characteristic.

34. The apparatus set forth in claim 29 wherein the switch circuitry is configured based on a selected communication interface in addition to the determined physical orientation.

35. An apparatus for determining the physical orientation of a connector comprising:

a first connector for coupling the apparatus with another device, the first connector including a plurality of contacts for physically connecting lines between the apparatus and the other device;

detector circuitry for monitoring a subset of at least one and fewer than all the plurality of contacts to determine if the first connector is mated with a second connector in a first physical orientation or a second physical orientation different from the first physical orientation;

switch circuitry operable to connect at least some of the plurality of contacts to other circuitry in the apparatus in a first configuration when the detector circuitry determines the first and second connectors are mated in the first physical orientation and in a second configuration when the detector circuitry determines the first and second connectors are mated in the second physical orientation; and

a processor that is electrically coupled with the switch circuitry and configured to operate the switch circuitry based on the determined physical orientation of the connector.

36. The apparatus set forth in claim 35 wherein the detector circuitry is configured to detect presence of a signal on monitored contacts, determine whether the detected signal matches an expected signal, and if the detected signal matches the expected signal, conclude that the second connector is in a first orientation with respect to the first connector.

37. The apparatus set forth in claim 35 wherein the plurality of contacts include a first data contact, a second data contact and a power contact.

38. The apparatus set forth in claim 37 wherein the switch circuitry is configured to, when connecting at least some of the plurality of contacts according to the first configuration, electrically connect a first data line within the first device to the first data contact in the first connector and electrically connect a second data line within the first device to the second data contact in the first connector, and when connecting at least some of the plurality of contacts according to the second configuration, electrically connect the first data line in the first device to the second data contact in the first connector and electrically connect the second data line in the first device to the first data contact in the first connector.

39. The apparatus set forth in claim 38 wherein the switch circuitry is further configured to electrically connect a third line within the first device to a third contact positioned between the first and second contacts in both the first and second configurations.

40. The apparatus set forth in claim 39 wherein the third contact is a third data contact.

41. The apparatus set forth in claim 38 wherein the switch circuitry is further configured to set the first and second data lines within the first device to an open state prior to electrically connecting the first and second data lines to either the first or second data contacts according to either the first or second configurations.

42. The apparatus set forth in claim 37 wherein the first and second data contacts are located at opposite positions.

43. The apparatus set forth in claim 37 wherein the first connector is a receptacle connector.

44. The apparatus set forth in claim 43 wherein the first connector includes a conductive shell coupled to ground.

45. The apparatus set forth in claim 35 wherein the subset of contacts monitored by the detector circuitry consists of two contacts.

46. The apparatus set forth in claim 35 wherein the processor is configured to operate the switch circuitry based on a selected communication interface in addition to the determined physical orientation.