Configuring plural multimedia audio cards as a local area network

• Main Authors: BREWER, JAMES ARTHUR, STAFFORD, JAMES MICHAEL, BEERS, GREGORY EDWARDS, HABERMEHL, PAUL ROBERT
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 14.04.2004
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: BROADCAST COMMUNICATION; CALCULATING; COMPUTING; COUNTING; ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE; ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING; ELECTRICITY; PHYSICS; TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHICCOMMUNICATION

A system and method makes use of the line-in, (300,304) line-out (300,306) connectors for each right (203a) and left (203) stereo channels of an audio card (40) to provide a communications network. The distributed computers are connected in a master/slave configuration. All of the slave systems have the line-in ports, and the line-out ports, connected together. The master system line-out is connected to each slave system line-in port, and the slave system line-out ports are connected to the master line-in port, for each channel. A communications protocol is provided wherein the master system allows audio and data information to be simultaneously transferred between the master and slave systems. The master provides a clock signal and performs arbitration in order to facilitate the information transfer. During steady state conditions, the slave systems will immediately transfer the clock signals, and data packets, from their line-in channel to their line-out channel. If either the master or slave systems recognize their address on the packet received on the line-in channel, then the information is decoded and processed by a digital signal processor (DSP) on the audio card. Audio information and data can then be input to the host system (master or slave) for display on the computer screen. A reduction in the magnitude of the control signal output by the slave systems signals the master that a slave is requesting the network. Once the network is granted to a slave, a data packet containing both audio and text information can be output to another computer on the system.