Method and circuit for detecting the presence of a connector in a socket
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Company
InventorFrançois Loison
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention relates to the detection of the presence of a connector in a socket (10), the connector keeping a pin (13) of the socket to a a given level. The invention suggests to take advantage of this for detecting the presence of the connector, by trying to pull the pin to another-level (20, 21), and determining whether the level on the pin is the given level or the other level. For a socket for a WOL connector in the motherboard of a computer, the pin used is the wake signal pin, which is normally at a low level. Pull-up means are used to try and pull-up the voltage at the pin. This voltage is measured by scanning the status bit of the event register of the controller, to which the pin is connected. The voltage is pulled up only if no connector is plugged into the socket.
Claims12
A method for detecting a presence of a connector in a socket, said connector keeping a pin of the socket at one of a first or second level, said method comprising:
- pulling said pin to said first level;
- detecting the presence of the connector when, in response to pulling said pin to said first level, the level determined on said pin is said second level;
- pulling said pin to said second level when, in response to pulling said pin to said first level, the level determined on said pin is said first level;
- and
- detecting the presence of the connector when, in response to pulling said pin to said second level, the level determined on said pin is said first level.
A method for disabling one of two sockets in a computer board, comprising:
- determining the presence of a connector in one of said sockets, said connector keeping a pin of said one of said sockets at one of a first or second level, by:
- pulling said pin to said first level;
- detecting the presence of the connector when, in response to pulling said pin to said first level, the level determined on said pin is said second level;
- pulling said pin to said second level when, in response to pulling said pin to said first level, the level determined on said pin is said first level;
- and
- detecting the presence of the connector when in response to pulling said pin to said second level, the level determined on said pin is said first level;
- and
- disabling the other of said sockets in response to detecting the presence of the connector in said one socket.
A computer board, comprising:
- a socket for receiving a connector, said connector keeping a pin of said socket at one of a first or second level;
- circuitry for temporarily pulling said pin to said first level;
- circuitry for detecting the presence of the connector when, in response to temporarily pulling said pin to said first level, the level determined on said pin is said second level;
- circuitry for temporarily pulling said pin to said second level when, in response to pulling said pin to said first level, the level determined on said pin is said first level;
- and
- circuitry for detecting the presence of the connector when in response to pulling said pin to said second level, the level determined on said pin is said first level.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.