Reconfigurable repeater system

Abstract

The present disclosure is directed to a reconfigurable repeater system. A system may comprise a PCB to which devices are coupled. At least one communication channel may convey communications signals between the devices. At least one receptacle may also be coupled to the PCB and may intersect the at least one communication channel so as to separate the at least one communication channel into sections. Inserting at least one extender module into the at least one receptacle may couple the at least one extender module to the sections of the communication module. The at least one extender module may include at least one conductor to convey communication signals between the sections of the at least one communication channel. Another configuration of the at least one extender module may include a repeater to receive, amplify and transmit communication signals between the sections of the at least one communication channel.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A reconfigurable repeater system, comprising:
 one or more printed circuit boards (PCBs);   at least one communication channel to convey communication signals between a first device and a second device across the one or more PCBs, the at least one communication channel comprising a first communication channel section connected by at least one receptacle to a second communication channel section; and   wherein the at least one receptacle is to accept the insertion of at least one removable extender circuit consisting of either:
 an electrically conductive jumper that communicably couples the first communication channel section to the second communication channel section; or 
 a repeater circuit to receive an input signal from the first communication channel section and transmit an output signal to the second communication channel section. 
   
     
     
         2 . The reconfigurable repeater system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the one or more PCBs comprise at least a first PCB and a second PCB;   at least part of the first communication channel section is formed in or on the first PCB;   at least part of the second communication channel section is formed in or on the second PCB; and   the at least one receptacle connects the first PCB to the second PCB.   
     
     
         3 . The reconfigurable repeater system of  claim 1 , wherein at least part of the first communication channel section and at least part of the second communication channel section are formed in or on the same PCB of the one or more PCBs. 
     
     
         4 . The reconfigurable repeater system of  claim 1 , wherein the system is to operate with at least one electrically conductive jumper inserted into the at least one receptacle based on a determined loss in the at least one communication channel being less than a threshold. 
     
     
         5 . The reconfigurable repeater system of  claim 4 , wherein the determined loss is determined based, at least in part, on a length of the at least one communication channel. 
     
     
         6 . The reconfigurable repeater system of  claim 1 , wherein the system is to operate with at least one repeater circuit inserted into the at least one receptacle based on a determined loss in the at least one communication channel being greater than a threshold. 
     
     
         7 . The reconfigurable repeater system of  claim 6 , wherein the determined loss is determined based, at least in part, on a length of the at least one communication channel. 
     
     
         8 . The reconfigurable repeater system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one repeater circuit improves signal quality of the at least one communication signal using a buffering circuit. 
     
     
         9 . The reconfigurable repeater system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one repeater circuit includes at least one of:
 amplifier circuitry to increase an energy level of the input signal received from the first communication channel section and transmit an output signal having a higher energy level than the input signal to the second communication channel section; and   noise filtering circuitry to decrease a noise level of the input signal received from the first communication channel section and transmit the output signal having a noise level than the input signal to the second communication channel section.   
     
     
         10 . The reconfigurable repeater system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one receptacle includes an assembly to couple the first communication channel section to the second communication channel section when the at least one receptacle is empty. 
     
     
         11 . The reconfigurable repeater system of  claim 1 , wherein the first communication channel section is electrically isolated from the second communication channel section when the at least one receptacle is empty. 
     
     
         12 . A method for configuring a reconfigurable repeater system, comprising:
 determining loss in at least one communication channel conveying communication signals between a first device and a second device coupled to at least one printed circuit board, the at least one communication channel comprising a first communication channel section connected by at least one receptacle to a second communication channel section;   determining if the loss exceeds a threshold; and   selecting, based on the threshold determination, at least one extender circuit for insertion into the at least one receptacle;   wherein the at least one receptacle is to accept the insertion of at least one extender circuit consisting of either:
 an electrically conductive jumper to communicably couple the first communication channel section to the second communication channel section; or 
 a repeater circuit to receive an input signal from the first communication channel section and transmit an output signal to the second communication channel section. 
   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein selecting, based on the threshold determination, at least one extender circuit for insertion into the at least one receptacle comprises:
 selecting, based on the determined loss being less than the threshold, at least one electrically conductive jumper for insertion into the at least one receptacle.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein determining if the loss exceeds a threshold comprises:
 determining, based, at least in part, on a length of the at least one communication channel, if the loss exceeds a threshold.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein selecting, based on the threshold determination, at least one extender circuit for insertion into the at least one receptacle comprises:
 selecting, based on the determined loss being greater than the threshold, at least one repeater circuit for insertion into the at least one receptacle.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein determining if the loss exceeds a threshold comprises:
 determining, based, at least in part, on a length of the at least one communication channel, if the loss exceeds a threshold.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein said repeater circuit improves signal quality of the at least one communication signal using a buffering circuit. 
     
     
         18 . A computing system, comprising:
 at least one node, the at least one node including:
 one or more printed circuit boards (PCBs) to which a first device and a second device are coupled; 
 at least one communication channel to convey communication signals between the first device and the second device, the at least one communication channel comprising a first communication channel section connected by at least one receptacle to a second communication channel section; and 
   wherein the at least one receptacle is to accept the insertion of an extender circuit consisting of either:
 an electrically conductive jumper to communicably couple the first communication channel section to the second communication channel section; or 
 a repeater circuit to receive an input signal from the first communication channel section and transmit an output signal to the second communication channel section. 
   
     
     
         19 . The computing system of  claim 18 , wherein the system is to operate with at least one electrically conductive jumper inserted into the at least one receptacle based on a determined loss in the at least one communication channel being less than a threshold. 
     
     
         20 . The computing system of  claim 19 , wherein the determined loss is determined based, at least in part, on a length of the at least one communication channel. 
     
     
         21 . The computing system of  claim 18 , wherein the system is to operate with at least one repeater circuit inserted into the at least one receptacle based on a determined loss in the at least one communication channel being greater than a threshold. 
     
     
         22 . The computing system of  claim 21 , wherein the determined loss is determined based, at least in part, on a length of the at least one communication channel. 
     
     
         23 . The computing system of  claim 18 , wherein the repeater improves signal quality of the at least one communication signal using a buffering circuit. 
     
     
         24 . At least one non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having stored thereon, individually or in combination, instructions for configuring a reconfigurable repeater system that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
 determine loss in at least one communication channel, wherein the at least one communication channel comprises a first communication channel section connected by at least one receptacle to a second communication channel section, and the at least one communication channel is to convey communication signals between a first device and a second device;   determine if the loss exceeds a threshold; and   select, based on the threshold determination, at least one extender circuit for insertion into the at least one receptacle;   wherein the at least one receptacle is to accept the insertion of at least one extender circuit consisting of either:
 an electrically conductive jumper to communicably couple the first communication channel section to the second communication channel section; or 
 a repeater circuit to receive an input signal from the first communication channel section and transmit an output signal to the second communication channel section. 
   
     
     
         25 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 24 , wherein the instructions resulting in the operation determine loss in at least one communication channel comprise instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
 determine, based at least in part on a length of at least one communication channel, loss in the at least one communication channel.   
     
     
         26 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 24 , wherein the instructions resulting in the operation select, based on the threshold determination, at least one extender circuit for insertion into the at least one receptacle comprise instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
 select, based on the determined loss being greater than the threshold, at least one repeater circuit for insertion into the at least one receptacle.