1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates to digital computing equipment. More particularly, the present invention relates to devices used to interconnect computing equipment in a network configuration.
2. Background of Invention Information
The proliferation of computers has made great computing power available to large numbers of users. The flexibility and capabilities of personal computers is greatly enhanced when the computers are interconnected to each other. When a plurality of computers are interconnected to share information, it is generally referred to as a network. Local Area Networks (LANs) are those networks which connect computers over a relatively small geographic areas and Wide Area Networks (WANs) are those networks which connect computers over a relatively large geographic area. With millions of computers being connected to each other as part of various networks, efficient use of computing resources becomes very important.
In order to allow a computer to be connected to a network, the computer must be provided with the appropriate network hardware. Such hardware is referred to as a network adaptor card. A network adaptor card may adhere to many different network standards, such as one of the popular Ethernet network standards or one of the Token ring network standards. A network adaptor card also adheres to one of the many standards which allow the network adaptor card to communicate with the computing device. The standards which allow the network adaptor card to communicate with the computing device include, for example, the PCI standard, the ISA standard, the PCMCIA and CARDBUS standards, the various IEEE RS standards (e.g. RS-232), as well as other standards. All of these standards are examples of standards which are well-known in the industry but the recitation of these standards is not intended to be a comprehensive list of those standards which are applicable to the present invention.
Represented in
As represented in
Besides functioning to convert between the signals of the MAC 16 and the signals that appear on the network media 18, the transceiver 14 is involved in establishing the network connection in the first place. When the host computer 12 initializes the network card 10, the transceiver 14 continuously monitors the network media 18 while typically sending out its own broadcast packets until there is a response from the network and a connection established. Some transceivers 14 that support more than one type of connection call the process of determining which types of signals must be used on the network “autonegotiation.” It is to be understood that the functions carried out by the network adaptor card 10 can be integral with other components of the host computer 12 or other type of computing device.
The advent of PCMCIA cards and CardBus cards, collectively known as PC Cards, has brought networking to the portable computer user. Such portable computers are battery powered devices which are small, easily carried devices often the size of a notebook or smaller. PC cards are compact hardware devices having dimensions of about 2.1 inches by about 3.4 inches with a thickness of only 3.5 mm, 5 mm, 10.5 mm or some other dimensions allowed by the promulgated PCMCIA standard. The PC Card typically slides into a socket provided on the housing of the computer to allow easy replacement of one PC Card with another PC Card. Increasingly, users of desktop computers, as well as other electronic devices, are also using such PC Cards to add hardware devices to their computing devices.
It is common to add a network adaptor card to a portable computer as a PC Card. Some of these PC Cards also contain a modem and are known as network/modem combination, or “combo,” cards. Often the portable computer user is only using the modem portion of the PC Card, or the user simply keeps the PC Card in the host computer even when the PC Card is not connected to any network. Since the network PC Card is installed in the PC Card slot on the computer, the PC Card still gets initialized by the host computer, and the transceiver (see 14 at
To reduce undesirable power consumption and electrical noise when the transceiver is not needed, most transceivers can enter a low-power mode. However, the circuitry needed to establish a network connection is disabled in a transceiver when the transceiver is in the low-power mode. While it has been suggested that it is possible to put the transceiver into the low-power mode and periodically give it full power to check for a cable being connected to the network adaptor card, this suggestion is impractical since in order to significantly reduce power consumption and minimize electrical noise, these full power checks are so infrequent that it results in an unacceptable delay in connecting to a network when a cable carrying active network signal is actually attached to the network adaptor card. Additionally, the software overhead required of the host computer for such an ongoing operation would hurt the performance of all other tasks the host computer is running. Moreover, merely mechanically detecting when a network cable is connected to the network adaptor card also provides unsatisfactory performance since there is no guarantee that the other end of the cable is actually connected to a network hub, switch, or router and that the cable is carrying an active network signal.
In view of the foregoing, it would be an advance in the art to provide a system and method for reducing the power consumed by a network adaptor card when the network adaptor is not actively connected to a network.
In view of the above described state of the art, the present invention seeks to realize the following objects and advantages.
It is a primary object of the present invention to reduce the power consumed by a network adaptor when the network adaptor is not actively connected to the network.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for reducing the power consumed by a transceiver in a network adaptor when the transceiver is not actively connected to a network.
It is a further object of the present invention to extend the battery life of a battery operated portable computing device by reducing the power required by a network adaptor when the adaptor is not connected to the network.
It is another object of the present invention to detect when an energy signature is present or absent on a network cable.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for detecting when a network signal is present on a network conveying medium which requires few additional components beyond those required to make a connection to the network.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system and method for detecting when a network signal is present on a network conveying medium which draws little power and which does not create excessive interfering electrical noise.
It is a yet further object of the present invention to provide a system and method for detecting when a network signal is present on a network conveying medium which is particularly suited for incorporation into a PC Card.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for detecting when an Ethernet network signal is present on a network conveying medium.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a single circuit which can detect when either a first network signal or a second network signal is actively present on a network conveying medium.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more fully apparent from the description and claims which follow, or may be learned by the practice of the invention.
The present invention provides an efficient and elegant structure and method for detecting the presence of an active connection to a data transmission network. The present invention functions by detecting the network signal energy on a network medium, such as a network cable. The present invention solves the problems of excessive power consumption and generation of excessive electrical noise. The embodiments of the present invention give an indication of whether or not an active network connection is present on a network cable. Advantageously, the embodiments of the present invention do not attempt to create a network connection; The embodiments of the present invention monitors the receive network lines to determine if there is electrical energy on the cable in the form particular to the type of network supported by the network adaptor card. The embodiment of the present invention then provides a hardware signal that is used by other logic on the network adaptor card to indicate the active network connection. One preferred function of the other logic components included on the network adaptor card is to interrupt the host computer when a change in cable energy status is detected.
The present invention allows the host computer to put the transceiver into the low-power mode continuously when there is no active signal present, yet permits the host computer to quickly power up the transceiver when a cable carrying an active network signal is connected to the network adaptor card. The power consumption of the embodiments of the present invention and any supporting logic is considerably less than that of the transceiver at full power.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a means for making a connection to a network medium, a means for comparing any signal found on the network medium to a predetermined standard, and a means for signaling the computing device when any signal found on the network medium is an active network signal are all preferably included in the embodiments of the present invention.
The embodiments of the present invention can be incorporated into a network adaptor card which is configured internally to the host computing device or as a PC Card, or in any other configuration which meets the needs of a particular application. The embodiments of the present invention are particularly applicable for use with networks compliant with the popular Ethernet network standards but other network standards can also benefit from the present invention.
In order to better appreciate how the above-recited and other advantages and objects of the invention are obtained, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to a specific embodiment thereof which is illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:
Reference will now be made to the drawings wherein like structures will be provided with like reference designations.
Reference will first be made to
Represented in
The signal from the conductors 104A&B is applied to circuit 102 which preferably provides DC filtering, isolation, and a DC bias. Circuit 102 provides the isolation function to ensure that the connection to the conductors 104A&4B does not cause any interference or change with the signals which are present on the network 98. Importantly, the network signals which are present on the conductors 104A&E are not altered by the presence of the embodiment of the present invention. Circuit 102 also provides an ideal DC bias under no-signal conditions for the detection circuit 106 which carries out the network detection function. The DC bias which is preferred for the network detection function may be different than the DC bias the network adaptor transceiver provides. The signal output from the circuit 102 is conveyed by conductors 108A&B to the circuit 106 for detection when the network signal is input to the network adaptor.
The network signal detection circuit 106 compares AC signal levels with a known reference voltage to detect the presence of a network signal on the conductors 104A&B. A reference voltage is preferably generated by a reference voltage circuit 116 and conveyed to the network signal detection circuit 106 as represented by line 118. More information on the preferred configurations for carrying out the functions of the network signal detection circuit 106 will be provided shortly. The output of the network signal detection circuit 106 is conveyed as represented line 112 to an output shaping circuit 110 which carries out output shaping. The output shaping circuit 110 outputs a energy detection signal as represented by line 114 which indicates whether the a network signal is present on the conductors 104A&B. The energy detection signal is preferably tailored to the particular requirements of the application to which the embodiment of the present invention is employed. Thus, in one preferred application of the present invention the energy detection signal is conveyed to the host computing device so that the host computing device can direct the transceiver in the network adaptor card to be in a full-power mode or a low-power mode.
The network detection circuit 106 represented in
One preferred application of the system 100 represented in
In the preferred embodiment described herein, the network signal detection circuit 106 outputs on conductor 112 an active-low signal designated as /ENERGY_DETECT which is output to the ASIC via conductor 114. Also in this preferred embodiment, if the /ENERGY_DETECT signal is high, the ASIC assumes no network signals are present and appropriate action, such as keeping the transceiver in a low-power state, is maintained. If the /ENERGY_DETECT signal is low, or pulses low at least twice in a programmable time period, it is assumed the network adaptor card is connected to an active Ethernet hub, switch, or router and appropriate action, such as keeping the transceiver fully active, is taken.
The output shaping circuit 110 represented in
With an appreciation of the foregoing, it will be understood that the system of the present invention represented in
Importantly, the embodiments of the present invention must provide the network energy detection indication not only before a connection is established, but also while the network adaptor card is attached to an active network. It is preferred that the system of the present invention represented in
In
It is to be appreciated that the capacitors C1 and C2, along with resistors R1, R2, R3, and R4, are just one preferred example of carrying out a means for DC filtering of the signal, a means for providing electrical isolation, and a means for providing a DC bias and those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are many other structures now known in the art or which will become available in the art which can carry out similar or equivalent functions and all such structures are intended to fall within the scope of the present invention.
In this preferred example, the values of capacitors C1 and C2, which are preferably substantially the same, are selected so they are high enough to pass the AC component of both 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps Ethernet network signals without significant attenuation. Resistors R1 and R2 function to set a DC bias for the comparator U1 on the positive differential receive signal RX+. In the described preferred application of the present invention, the DC bias voltage is preferably chosen as the midway point between the 3.3V power rail and ground, or 1.65V. This is because rail-to-rail input comparators U1 and U2 are preferably selected for use this circuit.
In the preferred example represented in
Still referring to
From an understanding of the forgoing, it will be appreciated that the common output of the comparators U1 and U2 will go low if either comparator U1 or U2 drives its output low. In this preferred example, the frequency rating of the comparators U1 and U2 should be just fast enough to respond to the network signals since higher speed comparators increase power consumption.
Resistors R5 and R6 provide a voltage reference for the inverting (minus) input of both comparators U1 and U2. It should be noted that the value of resistor R5 is greater than the value of resistor R6. In the example of
In operation, when no positive and negative differential receive signals RX+ & RX− network signal are present, comparators U1 and U2 see 1.65V on the non-inverting (plus) input and 1.45V on the inverting (minus) input, therefore the output of the comparators U1 and U2 is high. When a network signal is present, the AC component of the signal causes the voltage on the non-inverting (plus) inputs to vary above and below the 1.65V DC bias. When the voltage drops below 1.45V on the non-inverting (plus) input of either comparator U1 or U2, that comparator's output is driven low during that part of the AC cycle, indicating the presence of energy on the network receive lines RX+ & R−. Because the network signals are differential, the voltage on one line rises above the DC bias at the same time the other line drops below the DC bias. In this way, no more than one comparator U1 or U2 will ever drive the output low at a given time. An explanation of the benefits which accrue by selecting 1.45V as the reference voltage and by including two comparators will be explained below.
Importantly, although the Ethernet specifications define proper connector pins and cabling for the positive and negative differential signals RX+ & RX−, it is known that wiring errors occur and the differential pair conductors get swapped creating a polarity error. Most transceivers have automatic polarity correcting circuitry built in so that network connections can still be made with the cabling which is wired with the differential pair conductors swapped. Advantageously, the example of the present invention represented in
In order to provide the preferred embodiment of the present invention represented in
100 Mbps signals
10 Mbps link signals
10 Mbps data signals
Reference will next be made again to FIG. 3. Capacitor C3 and resistor R7 are one preferred example of an output shaping circuit, such as represented at 110 in FIG. 2. In the preferred example represented in
The /ENERGY_DETECT signal has the potential to create excessive noise which can interfere with the operation of other components on the network adaptor card since the /ENERGY_DETECT signal will follow the network signal fluctuations and have the amplitude of a digital signal. To alleviate this problem, the open drain pullup resistor R7 preferably has a very large value and the capacitor C3 is connected from the signal to ground. It is preferred that R7 and C3 be selected to provide an appropriate RC time constant, preferably about 0.1 ms. It will be understood that since the comparators U1 and U2 are open drain, the high-to-low transition will be very fast since the comparators U1 and U2 preferably provide a low impedance (typically less than 100 ohms) path to ground. But when using the preferred open-drain comparators U1 and U2, the low-to-high transition will be extremely slow because of the large value of R7. It will be so slow that as long as 100 Mbps signals or 10 Mbps data signals are present, the output never has time to climb up to a high level. Enough high-to-low transitions will occur during operation to keep the /ENERGY_DETECT signal essentially at ground level, reducing any noise which can interfere with the operation of other components on the network adaptor card.
Still referring to
Provided below in Table A are examples of the preferred values of selected components represented in FIG. 3.
As explained earlier, the present invention can be used in many different applications, with the particular application of detecting 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps Ethernet network signals being just one preferred example of the present invention. Those skilled in the art will be able to, using the information contained herein, arrive at other applications which use a network cable energy detect circuit and will be able to arrive at other circuits for the particular network topologies used and the type of indication signal required by other components on the network adaptor card. For example, those skilled in the art, using the information contained herein, can arrive at an additional embodiment of the present invention which does not look for either a steady or pulsed low level on the /ENERGY_DETECT signal. In such an additional embodiment, the apparatus preferably relies on the presence of continuous fluctuations to indicate presence of a network. If concerns about circuit board noise are minimal, such as with extremely short traces, the output shaping circuit can be eliminated and the elegant structure of an open drain pullup resistor (for example 5 k ohms) is used on the output of the comparators.
The embodiments of the present invention taught herein advantageously solve the problems of excessive power consumption and electrical noise generation in an elegant fashion while reliably and efficiently giving an indication of whether or not a network signal is present in network signal conveying media, whether that media is twisted pair, coaxial, or fiber media. The embodiments of the present invention disclosed herein do not attempt to create a network connection; The embodiments of the present invention only monitor the receive lines of the conveying media to determine if there is electrical energy on the media in the form particular to the type of network which is being detected. The embodiments of the present invention preferably provide a hardware signal that is used by other logic on the network adaptor card. The logic on the network adaptor card may then interrupt the host computer when a change in network energy status is detected. This preferred arrangement allows the transceiver of the network adaptor card to be put into the low-power mode continuously when there is no network signal present yet it permits a quick response and powering up of the transceiver when an active network signal is detected, such as when the conveying media is connected to a network hub, switch, or router. The power consumption of the embodiments of the present invention, and any supporting logic, is greatly less than that of the transceiver at full power. In a typical exemplary application, the power consumption of the embodiment of the present invention represented in
In view of the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the present invention provides a system and method for reducing the power consumed by a transceiver in a network adaptor when the transceiver is not actively connected to a network and which extends the battery life of a battery operated portable computing device by reducing the power required by a network adaptor when the adaptor is not connected to the network. The present invention also provides a system and method for detecting when a network signal is present on a network conveying media which requires few additional components and which draws little power and which does not create excessive interfering noise and which is particularly suited for incorporation into a PC Card.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
This application is a continuation of prior application Ser. No. 09/437,545 filed Nov. 10, 1999 (abandoned), which is a continuation of prior application Ser. No. 09/050,290 filed Mar. 30, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,169,475, issued on Jun. 2, 2001.
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3216499 | Oct 1999 | AU |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20040066301 A1 | Apr 2004 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 09437545 | Nov 1999 | US |
Child | 09783718 | US | |
Parent | 09050290 | Mar 1998 | US |
Child | 09437545 | US |