HIL bus
Encyclopedia
HP-IL
The HP-IL , was a short-range interconnection bus or network introduced by Hewlett-Packard in the early 1980s. It enabled several devices such as printers, floppy disk drives, tape readers, etc...
, is the name of a computer bus
Computer bus
In computer architecture, a bus is a subsystem that transfers data between components inside a computer, or between computers.Early computer buses were literally parallel electrical wires with multiple connections, but the term is now used for any physical arrangement that provides the same...
used by Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
to connect keyboards, mice, trackballs, digitizers, tablets, barcode readers, rotary knobs, touchscreens, and other human interface peripherals to their HP 9000
HP 9000
HP 9000 is the name for a line of workstation and server computer systems produced by the Hewlett-Packard Company . The native operating system for almost all HP 9000 systems is HP-UX, a derivative of Unix. The HP 9000 brand was introduced in 1984 to encompass several existing technical...
workstations. The bus was in use until the mid 1990s, when HP substituted PS/2
PS/2 connector
The PS/2 connector is a 6-pin Mini-DIN connector used for connecting some keyboards and mice to a PC compatible computer system. Its name comes from the IBM Personal System/2 series of personal computers, with which it was introduced in 1987...
technology for HIL. The PS/2 peripherals were themselves replaced with USB
Universal Serial Bus
USB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices....
-connected models.
The HIL bus is a daisy-chain of up to 7 devices, running at a raw clock speed of 8 MHz. Each HIL device typically has an output connector, and an input connector to which the next device in the chain plugs; the exception is the mouse which has only the output connector.
HIL buses can still be found on HP PA-RISC
PA-RISC
PA-RISC is an instruction set architecture developed by Hewlett-Packard. As the name implies, it is a reduced instruction set computer architecture, where the PA stands for Precision Architecture...
and one particular model of m68k server. Unix drivers are available.
The HP-HIL bus uses specific 4-pin, 6-pin, or 8-pin SDL connector
SDL connector
A Shielded Data Link connector is a type of electrical connector in which the signal pins are surrounded by a metal shield. The connector was designed by AMP and is available with a range of pins...
s, somewhat similar to the 8P8C 8-pin modular connector
Modular connector
Modular connector is the name given to a family of electrical connectors originally used in telephone wiring and now used for many other purposes. Many applications that originally used a bulkier, more expensive connector have now migrated to modular connectors...
commonly (though incorrectly) called the RJ-45
Registered jack
A registered jack is a standardized physical network interface — both jack construction and wiring pattern — for connecting telecommunications or data equipment to a service provided by a local exchange carrier or long distance carrier. The standard designs for these connectors and their wiring...
. The bus can reportedly also use a 9-pin D-subminiature
D-subminiature
The D-subminiature or D-sub is a common type of electrical connector. They are named for their characteristic D-shaped metal shield. When they were introduced, D-subs were among the smaller connectors used on computer systems....
DE-9 connector.
A HIL to PS/2 converter is available, namely the HP A4220-62001.