International Business Machines Corporation

Other

Kent A Dramstad

Timothy Jay Dell

Bruce G Hazelzet

Marc Raymond Faucher

Kamal Emile Dimitri

Steven Alfred Grundon

Bruce W Singer

Jeffrey N Ohler

A memory card adapter and method is provided which can add features or provide functions to a computer system's memory modules without having to replace and discard existing memory modules. An adapter is provided which has electrical contacts that are capable of being plugged into a memory module receiving socket of. a motherboard and a memory module receiving socket capable of receiving and retaining a memory module such as a SIMM. The adapter has logic, circuitry and/or memory chips to add new function to the existing memory module and also has all information and hardware needed for proper interface with the motherboard of the computer system. The present invention can add a variety of function such as parity, error correction code and error correction code on SIMM as well as convert signals which form from the system for use on the SIMM which signals in the form generate by the computer are not compatible with the SIMM.

Method for making a memory card adapter insertable into a motherboard memory card socket comprising a memory card receiving socket having the same configuration as the motherboard memory card socket

A memory card design which adds parity for non-parity computer systems to supply error detection capabilities is provided. The apparatus includes a memory card, parity DRAM locatable on the memory card, logic for generating and checking parity bits and logic for the control of the generating, checking and storing parity bits. Also, in another embodiment, the apparatus adds error correction code to the memory card to provide error detection and correction code to systems lacking such capabilities.

Memory card design with parity and ECC for non-parity and non-ECC systems

A memory card adapter and method is provided which can add features or provide functions to a computer system's memory modules without having to replace and discard existing memory modules. An adapter is provided which has electrical contacts that are capable of being plugged into a memory module receiving socket of a motherboard and a memory module receiving socket capable of receiving and retaining a memory module such as a SIMM. The adapter has logic, circuitry and/or memory chips to add new function to the existing memory module and also has all information and hardware needed for proper interface with the motherboard of the computer system. The present invention can add a variety of function such as parity, error correction code and error correction code on SIMM as well as convert signals which form from the system for use on the SIMM which signals in the form generate by the computer are not compatible with the SIMM.

Memory card adapter insertable into a motherboard memory card socket

A dynamically configurable memory adapter is provided for configuring SIMMs in a computer system which employs DIMMs. The adapter includes a plurality of SIMM sockets, a programmable logic device, an EEPROM, a bus controller, and DIP switches. The programmable logic device includes logic for interrogating and configuring serial presence detect data based on a plurality of SIMM characteristics included therein. The serial presence detect data is read by the computer system memory controller during the boot-up process. The dynamically configurable memory adapter also includes direct wiring between the DIMM interface and the SIMMs to thereby allow the SIMMs to directly talk to the memory controller.

Dynamically configurable memory adapter using electronic presence detects

This discloses a memory module adapter card that allows newer dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs) to be used by computer system boards that were built to use older single inline memory modules (SIMMs) thereby permitting computer owners to update and upgrade older machines without modifying or changing their system boards. This memory module adapter card is designed to connect a memory DIMM inserted into a DIMM socket, carried thereon, to a pair of smaller SIMM sockets on a computer system board such that the DIMM appears to the computer as a pair of the smaller SIMMs that the board was originally designed for. This decreases the need for manufacturing and maintaining an inventory of the older SIMMs and provides owners of older computers the means to extend the useful life of their existing computer system even if the SIMMs designed for the computer no longer exist or are prohibitively expensive or very difficult to locate.

Growing community of inventors

Essex Junction, VT, United States of America

Kent A Dramstad