Storage device sharing system and storage device sharing method
AssigneeRealtek Semiconductor Corp.
InventorsChun-Chieh Chan, Wei-Lun Huang, Chia-Fen Lin
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Abstract
A storage device sharing system and a storage device sharing method are provided. The storage device sharing system includes a storage device, a first chip and a second chip. The first chip and the second chip are configured to enter a toggle mode and an arbitration mode. In the toggle mode, the first chip that acts as the master controls the arbitration potential to a first control potential and a second control potential, and communicates with the storage device in response to the arbitration potential being the first control potential, and the second chip that acts as a slave communicates with the storage device in response to the arbitration potential being the second control potential.
Claims20
A storage device sharing system, comprising:
- a storage device;
- a first chip connected to the storage device and having a first arbitration terminal;
- a second chip connected to the storage device and having a second arbitration terminal, wherein the second arbitration terminal is connected to the first arbitration terminal and has an arbitration potential,
- wherein the first chip and the second chip are configured to enter a toggle mode, wherein:
- the first chip acts as a master, and is configured to control the arbitration potential to a first control potential and a second control potential through the first arbitration terminal, and to communicate with the storage device in response to the arbitration potential being the first control potential;
- the second chip acts as a first slave, and is configured to communicate with the storage device in response to the arbitration potential being the second control potential;
- wherein the first chip and the second chip are configured to determine whether a preferential communication event occurs, and the first chip or the second chip in which the preferential communication event occurs is configured to enter an arbitration mode, so as to adjust the arbitration potential from a first arbitration potential to a second arbitration potential and to communicate with the storage device, and to adjust the arbitration potential from the second arbitration potential to the first arbitration potential in response to communication being completed.
A storage device sharing method, adapted to a storage device sharing system that includes a storage device, a first chip and a second chip, and the storage device sharing method comprising:
- connecting the first chip to the storage device, wherein the first chip has a first arbitration terminal;
- connecting the second chip to the storage device, wherein the second chip has a second arbitration terminal, and the second arbitration terminal is connected to the first arbitration terminal and has an arbitration potential;
- configuring the first chip and the second chip to enter a toggle mode, which includes:
- configuring the first chip to act as a master, so as to control the arbitration potential to a first control potential and a second control potential through the first arbitration terminal, and to communicate with the storage device in response to the arbitration potential being the first control potential;
- configuring the second chip to act as a first slave, so as to communicate with the storage device in response to the arbitration potential being the second control potential;
- configuring the first chip and the second chip to determine whether a preferential communication event occurs, and configuring the first chip or the second chip in which the preferential communication event occurs to enter an arbitration mode, so as to adjust the arbitration potential from a first arbitration potential to a second arbitration potential and to communicate with the storage device, and to adjust the arbitration potential from the second arbitration potential to the first arbitration potential in response to communication being completed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.