3Com Corporation

Kurt Blacker

Myles Kimmitt

Peter Simpson

A computer network, and preferably a network concentrator, with a bidirectional serial channel. A plurality of devices on the channel are identified by addresses. The devices are divided into device groups and a device in one group can have an address which is identical to a device in another group. A management processor communicates with the individual devices by digital signaling through an analog multiplexer. The management processor decides which device group to communicate with, and then either generates a selection signal, or sends a data packet to a device register to generate a selection signal which causes the analog multiplexer to connect the bidirectional serial channel of the management processor to the bidirectional serial channel of the proper device group.

Growing community of inventors

Oxford, MA, United States of America

Kurt Blacker