Communication apparatus, communications system, and communication method

A communication apparatus, comprising:

• at least one processor configured to execute instructions to provide:
• a Physical Layer (PHY) that receives, from a communication partner apparatus, a transmission signal conforming to a predetermined communication protocol;
• a Link Layer (LINK) that separates a first General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO) packet including a time control command from the transmission signal;
• a controller that determines a starting point on a basis of the time control command;
• and
• a de-encapsulator that determines whether sampling-mode information included in header information in the first GPIO packet is a first mode indicating to include all pieces of sampling data obtained by sampling a GPIO signal transmitted from a Master at a constant sampling period or a second mode indicating to include sampling data sampled at a sampling interval corresponding to a frequency of logical changes of the GPIO signal and sampling position information, converts the first GPIO packet into a first GPIO signal, and transmits the obtained first GPIO signal to a Slave.

A communications system, comprising:

• a Master SerDes and a Slave SerDes that perform serial communication through a predetermined communication protocol, wherein
• the Master SerDes includes
• a first processor configured to execute instructions to provide
• a first controller that determines a time stamp as a starting point and a unit period of the time stamp starting from the starting point,
• a first encapsulator that synchronizes, starting from the starting point, a General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO) signal from a Master with the time stamp to generate one of a first GPIO packet including all pieces of sampling data sampled at a constant sampling period and a first GPIO packet including sampling data sampled at a sampling interval according to a frequency of logical changes of the GPIO signal and sampling position information,
• a first Link Layer (LINK) that generates an Up link packet including the first GPIO packet, and
• a first Physical Layer (PHY) that transmits a transmission signal to a communication partner apparatus, the transmission signal conforming to the predetermined communication protocol and including the Up link packet, and
• the Slave SerDes includes
• a second processor configured to execute instructions to provide
• a second PHY that receives, from a communication partner apparatus, a transmission signal conforming to the predetermined communication protocol,
• a second LINK that separates a second GPIO packet including a time control command from the transmission signal,
• a second controller that determines a starting point on a basis of the time control command, and
• a first de-encapsulator that determines whether sampling-mode information included in header information in the second GPIO packet is a first mode indicating to include all pieces of sampling data obtained by sampling a second GPIO signal transmitted from a Master at a constant sampling period or a second mode indicating to include sampling data sampled at a sampling interval corresponding to a frequency of logical changes of the GPIO signal and sampling position information, converts the second GPIO packet into a second GPIO signal, and transmits the obtained second GPIO signal to a Slave.

A communications method in which a Master SerDes and a Slave SerDes perform serial communication through a predetermined communication protocol, comprising:

• by the Master SerDes,
• determining a time stamp as a starting point and a unit period of the time stamp starting from the starting point;
• synchronizing, starting from the starting point, a GPIO (General Purpose Input/Output) signal from a Master with the time stamp to generate one of a first GPIO packet including all pieces of sampling data sampled at a constant sampling period and a first GPIO packet including sampling data sampled at a sampling interval according to a frequency of logical changes of the GPIO signal and sampling position information;
• generating an Up link packet including the first GPIO packet;
• and
• transmitting a transmission signal to a communication partner apparatus, the transmission signal conforming to the predetermined communication protocol and including the Up link packet;
• and
• by the Slave SerDes,
• receiving, from a communication partner apparatus, a transmission signal conforming to the predetermined communication protocol;
• separating a second GPIO packet including a time control command from the transmission signal;
• determining a starting point on a basis of the time control command;
• and
• determining whether sampling-mode information included in header information in the second GPIO packet is a first mode indicating to include all pieces of sampling data obtained by sampling a second GPIO signal transmitted from a Master at a constant sampling period or a second mode indicating to include sampling data sampled at a sampling interval corresponding to a frequency of logical changes of the GPIO signal and sampling position information, converts the second GPIO packet into a second GPIO signal, and transmitting the obtained second GPIO signal to a Slave.