Title :
The design of an integrated circuit for use in a smart RS-232 cable
Author :
Hoole, A.C.F. ; Levy, D.C. ; Poole, K.F.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electron. Eng., Natal Univ., Durban, South Africa
Abstract :
A smart RS-232 cable capable of automating the process of connecting two serial ports together has been designed. After making the physical connections, the user is required to input the baud rate and the port description: either listener or talker/listener. The custom-designed integrated circuit interrogates the ports and makes the logical connections of the TXD, RXD, DTR, RTS, CTS, DSR, DCD, and GND lines for transmission to take place. The design of the system has led to the development of an algorithm for interrogating RS-232 ports as well as a method for the interconnection of bidirectional signals where very little information about the other side is known. The design was performed on an Apollo 3000 workstation using the LIS (Laboratory for Integrated Systems) software, and the ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) was designed for implementation in a 3-μm double-level metal process. Full-chip-level simulation results verify the correct operation of the smart RS-232 connection
Keywords :
application specific integrated circuits; computer interfaces; data communication equipment; integrated logic circuits; telecommunication cables; 3 micron; ASIC; Apollo 3000 workstation; DCE/DTE equipment connection; LIS software; application-specific integrated circuit; baud rate input; bidirectional signals interconnection; custom-designed integrated circuit; double-level metal process; logic IC; port description input; port interrogation; serial ports connection; smart RS-232 cable; Algorithm design and analysis; Application specific integrated circuits; Circuit simulation; Integrated circuit interconnections; Joining processes; Laboratories; Signal design; Software performance; Software systems; Workstations;
Conference_Titel :
Southeastcon '89. Proceedings. Energy and Information Technologies in the Southeast., IEEE
Conference_Location :
Columbia, SC
DOI :
10.1109/SECON.1989.132507
