Electrical computers and digital data processing systems: input/ – Input/output data processing – Peripheral configuration
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-16
2001-09-18
Lee, Thomas (Department: 2182)
Electrical computers and digital data processing systems: input/
Input/output data processing
Peripheral configuration
C710S062000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06292848
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to adapter cards for small computer systems. Specifically, an adapter card which may be configured in either a legacy, a plug and play, or a customer unique mapping mode is described.
Personal computers are designed with an open system which provides for expansion capabilities. The central processing for these computers is performed with circuitry which resides on a mother board. The mother board includes various slot interfaces which can receive devices which enhance the computer's utility. These devices may include network cards for connecting the computer to an external network, modems for communicating by telephone with other computers, hard drive and floppy drive controllers, etc. Once installed these devices may be addressed and utilized as a system resource.
All of these expansion devices include an adapter which contains various interface parameters for establishing operating conditions which are compatible with the system bus protocol. In prior art devices, these configuration parameters were preset in the adapter cards before installation and are not changed by the user, or only changed with special utilities software which requires considerable skill to operate. In some instances, conflicts in I/O (Input/Output) addresses, interrupt levels, etc., arise which cannot be resolved by the computer system when several of such expansion devices are in the computer.
A new configuration standard has been proposed which is referred to as a “plug and play” configuration. Adapter cards having the plug and play capability are individually configured by the computer system which assigns I/O addresses, interrupt levels, and other parameters during an initial power up sequence. The system BIOS or the operating system includes routines for individually addressing the adapter cards, assigning a handle for the adapter card, known as a Card Select Number (CSN), and determining the various operating requirements for the adapter cards. Conflicts between the identity of the cards are avoided as a result of the system conducting an inventory of all the connected devices which precedes the assignment of I/O addresses, interrupt levels, and the other parameters.
The use of plug and play adapter cards will undoubtedly prove advantageous to users who have a computer system which accepts the plug and play configuration. However, many systems currently in use do not have a system BIOS or operating system which provides plug and play capabilities. Adapter cards which are only configured for this configuration arc not functional in the older legacy systems which only support the pre-existing type of configuration.
After market adapters which are dedicated to a single configuration lack a versatility which permits a user to change resource allocations which is useful whether the system is a plug and play system or the older pre-plug and plug system. Ideally, adapter cards are desirable which are capable of both types of configuration, and which permit a user to modify the configuration through a companion utility program.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an adapter card which is capable of being configured in both a legacy configuration and a plug and play configuration, and which can be reconfigured using a utilities program.
The adapter card includes a non volatile memory such as a EEPROM which stores various parameters such as I/O and memory addresses and interrupt levels, which are necessary to support the card. Additionally, the non-volatile memory stores mapping mode bits which select the configuration logic for the adapter card. During a power up sequence, the mapping mode bits are read and the device assumes the configuration defined by the read bits.
The configuration is set to a default condition prior to installation which places the adapter card in a legacy configuration. However, the adapter card detects the presence of a normal plug and play sequence on the system bus. Logic circuitry on the card then switches to a plug and play configuration permitting configuration parameters to be set from the plug and play routines executed as part of the BIOS routine or from the operating system.
The related utility program permits the adapter card to be programmed in any of several configurations. The utility program issues an alternate key sequence which is recognized by the interface of the adapter card, and enables the logic circuit to decode the subsequent configuration commands for changing the parameters in the non-volatile memory as well as the mapping mode bits. The new non-volatile memory contents establish the adapter card configuration in subsequent system boots.
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Billheimer Eric Allan
Kolvick Randolph Scot
Plyler William Wyche
Connolly Bove Lodge & Hutz
International Business Machines - Corporation
Lee Thomas
Perveen Rehana
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