Patent ID: 8050174

Claim:
A method for managing a set of adjacent signal paths, which are in a sequence, for a device, the method comprising: detecting a defective signal path within the set of signal paths for the device, wherein the defective signal path is at a particular location in the sequence; responsive to detecting the defective signal path, re-routing signals through the set of signal paths, wherein the defective signal path is removed from the set of signal paths and the signals are transmitted using the extra signal paths that remain in the set of signal paths; wherein a signal that was intended to be transmitted using the defective signal path is re-routed to, and transmitted using, an adjacent one of the set of signal paths that is next in the sequence immediately after the particular location; wherein a signal that was intended to be transmitted using one of the set of signal paths that is last in the sequence is re-routed to, and transmitted using, the extra signal path; wherein the device is a driver chip that includes a plurality of drivers, and further wherein each one of the plurality of drivers drives one of the set of signal paths that connects to one of a plurality of receivers included in a receiver chip, and further including: driving, by the plurality of drivers, all of the set of signal paths to a first logic level simultaneously; after driving all of the set of the set of signal paths to the first logic level: driving, by a first one of the plurality of drivers, a first one of the set of signal paths to a second logic level while all remaining ones of set of signal paths remain at the first logic level; determining whether a first one of the plurality of receivers that is connected to the first one of the set of signal paths receives the second logic level; in response to determining that the first one of the plurality of receivers does not receive the second logic level, determining that the first one of the signal paths is defective; and in response to determining that the first one of the plurality of receivers does receive the second logic level: driving, by a next one of the plurality of drivers, a next one of the set of signal paths in the sequence to a second logic level while all remaining ones of set of signal paths remain at the first logic level.