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:
Sep. 05, 1995
Filed:
Mar. 14, 1994
Applicant:
Inventors:
Lonnie A Knox, Reston, VA (US);
Dale A Rickard, Manassas, VA (US);
Assignee:
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Attorneys:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G06F / ; H04J / ; H04J / ; H04B / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
370 16 ; 340827 ; 39518202 ;
Abstract
An apparatus and method for increasing the mean time between failure for computer systems is disclosed. A single spare line can be used to replace any of several signal lines. Using 2:1 multiplexers, defective signal lines can easily be switched to a nonoperative state and the remaining signal lines shifted to provide for replacement of the defective line without significant path length increase or signal time delay. The invention is applicable to signal paths of different varieties, including electrical, electro-optical and fluidic.