Signal sampling using flex circuits on direct inter-connects

Details Signal sampling using flex circuits on direct inter-connects Signal sampling using flex circuits on direct inter-connects

2000-12-29

2004-11-16

Karlsen, Ernest (Department: 2829)

Electricity: measuring and testing

Fault detecting in electric circuits and of electric components

Of individual circuit component or element

C324S538000, C439S225000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06819126

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field:
The present invention relates to signal sampling between components in a computer system.
2. Description of Related Art:
Disk drive attachment to a motherboard, using the industry standard Single Connector Attachment (SCA), will not allow for signal sampling and/or redirection of signals to Light Emitting Diode (LED) indicators. Drive integration and the use of various drive vendors has presented an issue of access to LED indicator signals from drive option block connectors. Some vendors are eliminating the option block connectors from their designs.
Current practice is to use two connectors with a flex circuit to bridge between the drive and the motherboard, and use a third connector, on the flex circuit, to connect to the drive's option block. With high-speed signals, such as Fiber channel 2 gigabits/sec, the multiple connectors and flex circuits solution presents impedance and capacitance clumping issues. Each connection has a capacitance. If the connecting flex is short, the two capacitances can clump together and reflect the signal. Lengthening the flex will reduce capacitance clumping but will also increase resistance and signal loss in the flex. Higher cost and lower reliability are also result from the two-connector solution.
Another approach has been to place LEDs on the motherboard or backplane and use light pipes on the Field Replaceable Units (FRUs). The light pipes are used to convey activity and failure indicators from the LEDs. Unfortunately, this introduces reliability and servicing problems related to the backplane. To replace a defective LED, the backplane would have to be removed, resulting in the whole machine being taken down.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a method and system for sampling data signals between electronic components. The invention comprises using a straight feed-through connector to connect electronic components and attaching one end of a flexible circuit to the pins of the feed-through connector. The other end of the flexible circuit is attached to a display, such as a LED. The display constitutes a field replaceable unit (FRU), which allows a malfunctioning display (i.e. LED) to be replaced without having to remove other electronic components or interrupt machine availability. The present invention can be used for the detection of fault signals, status, idle signals, error checking, and introduction of a signal analyzer.


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