US Patent 7219181 Dual use modular PCI/PCI express interface

Techniques where PCIe is implemented using connectors that are compatable with Cardbus/MPCI connectors. One technique implements PCIe on unused pins on Cardbus/MPCI connectors. An advantage of this implementation is that it provides a single, smaller connection point than utilizing separate connectors. Another technique is to add additional pins to a PCI connector for processing PCIe low voltage differential signal pairs. Although this technique is not as small as the first technique, it is still smaller than utilizing separate connectors.