Patent ID: 7802020

Claim:
An input/output (I/O) module for interfacing with an I/O device used in an industrial application, the I/O module comprising: a housing; an electrical connector, accessible from outside the housing, for connecting the I/O module to at least one I/O device, the electrical connector comprising multiple electrical signal interface pins for making an electrical signal connection between the at least one I/O device and the I/O module; within the housing, a different application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) associated with each one of the electrical signal interface pins, wherein each of the ASICs comprises a matrix switch and signal processing circuitry configured to process signals related to the at least one I/O device; wherein the ASICs further comprise a serial interface and wherein the matrix switches are configurable in response to a matrix switch configuration command received at the serial interface; within the housing, electrical signal paths between the ASICs and the electrical signal interface pins; and within the housing, electrical signal paths between the matrix switches of the ASICs that provide electrical signal connectivity between the matrix switches of each ASIC in the I/O module and that enable electrical signals to be distributed to any of the different ASICs depending on the configuration of the matrix switches.