Patent ID: 7675922
Filing Date: 2010-03-09
Classification: G06F,H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for facilitating communication between a computing system and an external system using a universal communication port, comprising the steps of: equipping the computing system with at least one universal communication port presenting a plurality of coupler lines configured to engage a connector associated with one of a plurality of compatible external systems and presenting a plurality of connector lines for coupling the external system to the computer system, the universal communication port being configured to receive and initialize one of the plurality of compatible external systems, wherein at least two of the external systems include different connector lines, the different connector lines including different data or power line associations, the universal communication port being further configured to accept a plurality of different connector types; determining that an external system's connector has been engaged with the with the universal communication port such that at least a first portion of the universal communication port's coupler lines are electrically connected to at least a portion of the external system's connector lines; performing an evaluation of at least one electrical property manifested in the first portion of coupler lines to determine whether data or power characteristics of the external system are identifiable from among the plurality of known compatible external systems with which the computing system can automatically interface using the universal communication port; based on the evaluation, detecting which external system has been connected to the universal communication port and determining whether the port's data or power line associations are properly routed for communication with the external system; and when the evaluation indicates the external system is among the known compatible external systems with which the computing system can automatically interface using the universal communication port, automatically routing at least a second portion of the coupler lines to a corresponding converter subsystem according to the detected data or power line associations, the converter subsystem corresponding to the detected external system, the subsystem being configured to interface the computing system with the external system.