초록 ▼

The adapter/coupler links at least one legacy signal to a wideband network having a defined protocol. The adapter/coupler may be used with a wideband network having a signaling speed of 90 megabits per second, or greater. The adapter/coupler includes a signal conversion/conditioning element for rece

The adapter/coupler links at least one legacy signal to a wideband network having a defined protocol. The adapter/coupler may be used with a wideband network having a signaling speed of 90 megabits per second, or greater. The adapter/coupler includes a signal conversion/conditioning element for receiving at least one legacy signal and providing a conditioned digital signal which is compatible to the defined protocol of the wideband network. A low latency controller element receives the conditioned digital signal and provides data/control signals. A link/physical layer element receives the data/control signals and transforms them to appropriate signaling mechanisms of a defined physical layer standard in accordance with the defined protocol. The transformed signals are outputted to the wideband network. The latency from the reception of the conditioned digital signal from the signal conversion/conditioning element to the output of the transformed signals to the wideband network is less than 200 microseconds. The adapter/coupler of the present invention introduces a wide bandwidth transmission capability to accommodate the needs of present day and future systems.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An adapter/coupler for linking at least one legacy signal to a wideband network having a defined protocol, the wideband network having a signaling speed of 90 megabits per second or greater, the adapter/coupler, comprising:(a) a signal conversion/conditioning element for receiving at least one le

1. An adapter/coupler for linking at least one legacy signal to a wideband network having a defined protocol, the wideband network having a signaling speed of 90 megabits per second or greater, the adapter/coupler, comprising:(a) a signal conversion/conditioning element for receiving at least one legacy signal and providing a conditioned digital signal which is compatible to the defined protocol of the wideband network;(b) a low latency controller element for receiving the conditioned digital signal and providing data/control signals; and(c) a link/physical layer element for receiving said data/control signals and transforming them to appropriate signaling mechanisms of a defined physical layer standard in accordance with said defined protocol, said transformed signals being outputted to said wideband network, wherein the latency from the reception of the conditioned digital signal from the signal conversion/conditioning element to the output of the transformed signals to the wideband network is less than 200 microseconds. 2. The adapter/coupler of claim 1, wherein wideband network signals are received by said link/physical layer element, the resulting data/control signals being passed to the low latency controller element and then conditioned by said signal conversion conditioning element for conversion to a legacy signal. 3. The adapter/coupler of claim 1, wherein said low latency controller element and said link/physical layer element consume an average of less than 750 milliwatts of power during operation. 4. The adapter/coupler of claim 1, wherein said low latency controller element comprises a jitter synchronization element for providing a variability of data latency of less than ±1 microsecond from the reception of the conditioned digital signal from the signal conversion/conditioning element to the output of the transformed signals to the wideband network. 5. An adapter/coupler for linking at least one legacy signal to a wideband network having a defined protocol, the wideband network having a signaling speed of 90 megabits per second or greater, the adapter/coupler, comprising:(a) a signal conversion/conditioning element for receiving at least one legacy signal and providing a conditioned digital signal which is compatible to the defined protocol of the wideband network;(b) a low latency controller element for receiving the conditioned digital signal and providing data/control signals; and(c) a link/physical layer element for receiving said data/control signals and transforming them to appropriate signaling mechanisms of a defined physical layer standard in accordance with said defined protocol, said transformed signals being outputted to said wideband network, wherein said low latency controller element and said link/physical layer element consume an average of less than 750 milliwatts of power during operation. 6. The adapter/coupler of claim 5, wherein wideband network signals are received by said link/physical layer element, the resulting data/control signals being passed to the controller element and then conditioned by said signal conversion/conditioning element for conversion to a legacy signal. 7. The adapter/coupler of claim 5, wherein said low latency controller element comprises a jitter synchronization element for providing a jitter of less than ±1 microsecond from the reception of the conditioned digital signal from the signal conversion/conditioning element to the output of the transformed signals to the wideband network. 8. The adapter/coupler of claim 1, wherein said link/physical layer element, comprises:(a) a link layer controller element for receiving said data/control signals and packaging the data to be transmitted into packets with appropriate destination, typing and error detection coding; and(b) a physical layer arbiter element connected to said link layer controller element for transmitting the packets in the form of said transformed signals to the wideband network after arbitrating for and successfully gaining access to the wideband network. 9. The adapter/coupler of claim 8, wherein wideband network signals are received by said physical layer arbiter element and transmitted to the link layer controller element for transmission to the low latency controller element. 10. The adapter/coupler of claim 9, wherein said link layer controller element and said physical layer arbiter element are galvanically isolated to prevent any significant current flow therebetween. 11. The adapter/coupler of claim 1, wherein said defined protocol of said wideband network comprises IEE-1394. 12. The adapter/coupler of claim 1, wherein said defined protocol of said wideband network comprises IEEE-1394a. 13. The adapter/coupler of claim 1, wherein said defined protocol of said wideband network comprises signaling rates up to 3.2 Gbps. 14. The adapter/coupler of claim 1, wherein said defined protocol of said wideband network comprises a fiber optic physical layer cabling media. 15. The adapter/coupler of claim 1, wherein said defined protocol of said wideband network comprises a cable length greater than 15 feet. 16. The adapter/coupler of claim 1, wherein said defined protocol of said wideband network comprises a bridging protocol and method for interfacing one IEEE-1394 class bus to another. 17. The adapter/coupler of claim 1, wherein said defined protocol of said wideband network comprises a fibre-channel protocol. 18. An adapter/coupler assembly, comprising:(a) an adapter/coupler for linking at least one legacy signal to a wideband network having a defined protocol, the wideband network having a signaling speed of 90 megabits per second or greater, the adapter/coupler, comprising:(i) a signal conversion/conditioning element for receiving at least one legacy signal and providing a conditioned digital signal which is compatible to the defined protocol of the wideband network;(ii) a low latency controller element for receiving the conditioned digital signal and providing data/control signals; and(iii) a link/physical layer element for receiving said data/control signals and transforming them to appropriate signaling mechanisms of a defined physical layer standard in accordance with said defined protocol, said transformed signals being outputted to said wideband network, wherein the latency from the reception of the conditioned digital signal from the signal conversion/conditioning element to the output of the transformed signals to the wideband network is less than 200 microseconds;(b) at least one legacy signal connector for connecting at least one legacy signal source to said signal conversion/conditioning element; and(c) at least one wideband network connector for connecting said link/physical layer element to the wideband network. 19. The adapter/coupler assembly of claim 8, further including a housing for containing said adapter coupler, said at least one legacy signal connector and said at least one wideband network connector.