Slave device, communication system, imaging device, master device, and data communication method

A master device that performs data communication with a plurality of slave devices via a bus, comprising:

• a communication unit that transmits a control signal, which includes address information indicating a common address for a plurality of slave devices, specifying information specifying one or more selected slave devices, among the plurality of slave devices, targeted for data communication, and data length information indicating a data length that a slave device specified in the specifying information receives or transmits in a predetermined order, to the plurality of slave devices via the bus and thereby performs data communication with the one or more selected slave devices, among the plurality of slave devices, that are targeted for data communication,
• wherein
• the specifying information appears in the control signal,
• the specifying information has a first bit sequence that includes a plurality of bits, each of the plurality of slave devices is assigned a unique one of the plurality of bits of the first bit sequence such that each of the plurality of bits of the first bit sequence corresponds to at least one of the plurality of slave devices, and
• each of the one or more selected slave devices, of the plurality of slave devices, being targeted for data communication has a corresponding bit of the plurality of bits of the first bit sequence that is set to a first value by the master device in order to select the one or more selected slave devices for data communication with the master device.

A data communication method for data communication between a master device and a plurality of slave devices via a bus, comprising:

• receiving, by the plurality of slave devices, a control signal, which includes address information indicating a common address for the plurality of slave devices, specifying information specifying one or more selected slave devices, among the plurality of slave devices, targeted for data communication, and data length information indicating a data length that each of the one or more selected slave devices specified in the specifying information receives or transmits in a predetermined order, from the master device;
• in response to the specifying information in which one of plurality of slave devices is not selected, which is termed a non-selected slave device, having the non-selected slave device not perform data communication with the master device;
• and
• the one or more selected slave devices selected in response to the specifying information to be targeted for data communication, performing, by each of the one or more selected slave devices, data communication with the master device to read data with a data length indicated in the data length information from a register of each of the one or more selected slave devices or to write data to the register according to the predetermined order and the specifying information based on the control signal,
• wherein
• the specifying information appears in the control signal,
• the specifying information has a first bit sequence that includes a plurality of bits, each of the plurality of slave devices is assigned a unique one of the plurality of bits of the first bit sequence such that each of the plurality of bits of the first bit sequence corresponds to at least one of the plurality of slave devices, and
• each of the one or more selected slave devices, of the plurality of slave devices, being targeted for data communication has a corresponding bit of the plurality of bits of the first bit sequence that is set to a first value by the master device in order to select the one or more selected slave devices for data communication with the master device.