Patent ID: 8164918

Claim:
A transmit fabric that facilitates proximity communication, comprising: an array of transmission pads that transmit signals using proximity communication, wherein the array comprises a set of macropads, wherein each macropad comprises a set of two or more micropads that can be configured to transmit one or more signals; a steering fabric that routes signals to and within a given macropad such that a transmitting subset of the micropads in the given macropad transmits a signal to a receiving component, wherein the steering fabric routes a first direct input signal and a second direct input signal to the given macropad; a first level of steering logic in the steering fabric that selectively routes at least one of the first direct input signal and the second direct input signal to each of the micropads in the given macropad; and a second level of steering logic in the steering fabric that routes one of a direct input signal for the macropad or a direct input signal from an adjacent macropad to a micropad in the given macropad; and wherein the steering fabric limits the number of input signals that are routed to the micropad in the given macropad to eliminate redundant steering configurations for the array and to reduce the power needed to transmit the signal.