Single-Port Circuit Interface with Selective Bias Switching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing interface devices for processing units require multiple input ports to connect and read the state of multiple circuits, leading to increased costs and limited flexibility for adding additional circuits during the product's service life, and multiplexers introduce additional costs and limitations in circuit addition.
Innovation Solution
An interface device that connects multiple circuits to a single input port of a processing unit using a plurality of power sources and a switching mechanism, allowing selective biasing of one circuit while grounding others, controlled by output ports, enabling state value acquisition without the need for a multiplexer or expensive components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple input ports are used to connect and read multiple circuits, then the number of circuits that can be monitored increases, but the cost and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple circuit connections into a single input port by using a switching mechanism that selectively connects different circuits to the same input port at different times, thereby reducing the total number of input ports needed while maintaining the ability to monitor multiple circuits
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic switching between circuits connected to a single input port, allowing the connection to change over time based on which circuit needs to be read, thus enabling multiple circuits to share one input port through time-multiplexed connections
2Ease of manufacture
If the processing unit is precisely sized with a specific number of input ports, then cost is reduced, but flexibility to add additional circuits during service life is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes a single input port universal by enabling it to serve multiple circuits through the switching mechanism, allowing the same input port to be reused for different circuits at different times, thus providing flexibility without requiring additional ports or increasing cost
3Device complexity
If a multiplexer is used to connect multiple circuits to a single input port, then the number of input ports is reduced, but additional costs and limitations in circuit addition arise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by using the processing unit's own output ports to control the switching mechanism, eliminating the need for external multiplexer components and their associated costs, while the processing unit itself performs the multiplexing function through its output ports controlling the switches
Data Source
AI summary
An interface device for a processing unit, allowing a plurality of circuits to be connected to a single input port of the processing unit, capable of acquiring a state value of a circuit of the plurality of circuits, when the circuit is biased, including a plurality, of the same cardinal number, of power sources, each power source being associated with a circuit of the plurality of circuits and capable of biasing same, a switch capable of selectively connecting a single circuit of the plurality of circuits to the associated power source, in such a way as to bias the circuit, and of connecting all of the other circuits to ground, the selection of the biased circuit being controlled by a set of at least one output port of the processing unit.