The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 23, 1993
Filed:
Mar. 04, 1991
Russell Campbell, Boise, ID (US);
Todd A Fischer, Boise, ID (US);
Patrick W Fulghum, Boise, ID (US);
Paul R Sorenson, San Diego, CA (US);
James G Wendt, Auburn, CA (US);
Hewlett-Packard Company, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Abstract
A packet-based communication system is described for linking a peripheral unit (PU) to the outside world via a communications link. The system includes a modular interface unit (MIU) which has a memory shared by processors in both the PU and MIU. The system employs control packets, read packets and write packets and performs a method for allocating the shared memory that optimizes memory utilization. The system determines a ratio of read to write packets required in the operation of the PU, and it ignores that ratio if the communications link will not transmit write packets. If the communication link will transmit write packets, it allocates read and write packet space within the shared memory in accordance with the ratio. The system also includes apparatus for enabling MIU configuration via user/keyboard inputs through the PU with the MIU providing the question and answer messages. This feature allows the PU to adapt to many different communication links, simply by replacement and user configuration of the MIU. The system further includes apparatus for rapidly handling network protocol headers. Those headers are stored along with the data packets and when the packet is accessed by the PU from shared memory, pointers are employed to enable access of only the data portions of such packets while ignoring the network protocol header portions.