Compaq Computer Corporation, Inc.

Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.p.

G Byron Sands

Don A Dykes

Kevin W Eyres

Peter J Brown

Andrew L Love

A computer system implements a standard modem without the use of a microcontroller. Instead, a digital signal processor is provided on an expansion card, but with direct links to the computer system itself. The code usually implemented in the microcontroller is instead implemented as a virtual modem controller to be called by the operating system of the computer itself. Further, this virtual modem controller includes a virtualized UART, that appears to the operating system software as a hardware UART, with entry points for calls to replace input/output instructions. In this way, standard device driver code written to execute input/output operations is easily converted to operate with the &ldquo;virtualized&rdquo; UART.

Controllerless modem

Controllerless modem with general purpose computer executing modem controller code and virtualized dart communicating data to/from modem controller code

A computer system implements a standard modem without the use of a microcontroller. Instead, a digital signal processor is provided on an expansion card, but with direct links to the computer system itself. The code usually implemented in the microcontroller is instead implemented as a virtual modem controller to be called by the operating system of the computer itself. Further, this virtual modem controller includes a virtualized UART, that appears to the operating system software as a hardware UART, with entry points for calls to replace input/output instructions. In this way, standard device driver code written to execute input/output operations is easily converted to operate with the 'virtualized' UART.

Growing community of inventors

Spring, TX, United States of America

G Byron Sands