Electronic apparatus, system and method for controlling communication among devices coupled through different interfaces

An electronic apparatus, comprising:

• an IEEE 1394 interface for communicating with an IEEE 1394 device;
• an Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) interface for coupling to a first IDE device and a second IDE device, wherein:
• the first IDE device has first information for enabling other devices to communicate with the first IDE device,
• the second IDE device has second information for enabling other devices to communicate with the second IDE device, and
• the first IDE device and the second IDE device are detachably coupled to the IDE interface;
• a controller for reading the first information for the first IDE device and the second information for the second IDE device through the IDE interface;
• a memory for storing the first information and the second information;
• and
• logic for selectively sending either the first information or the second information, through the IEEE 1394 interface and to the IEEE 1394 device, in accordance with a request from the IEEE 1394 device.

A system comprising:

• a first device having a first communication means that couples the first device to a second device and a second communication means, separate from the first communication means, that couples the first device to a third device, wherein:
• the second device has first information for communicating between the second device and the third device;
• and
• the first device includes:
• means for reading the first information through the first communication means,
• memory means for storing the first information, and
• means for transmitting the first information to the third device through the second communication means in accordance with a request for the first information by the third device.

An electronic system including:

• a first device having a first communication means and a second communication means;
• a second device, coupled to the first communication means in the first device and having first information for communicating between the second device and a third device;
• the third device, coupled to the second communication means in the first device;
• wherein the first device includes:
• means for reading the first information,
• a controller for converting the first information into a predetermined format that can be read by the third device;
• a memory for storing the first information in the predetermined format;
• and
• an interface for sending the first information from the memory to the third device through the second communication means in accordance with a request for the first information by the third device.

A method for controlling communications between a first device and a second device, wherein the first device includes a first communication means and a second communication means, separate from the first communication means, for communicating first information with the second device, the method comprising:

• reading the first information for communicating between the first device and the second device;
• converting the first information into a predetermined format associated with the second device;
• storing the converted information in a memory in the predetermined data format;
• and
• sending the converted information from the memory to the second device in accordance with a request from the second device through the second communication means.

A conversion device that interfaces one or more peripheral devices to at least one processor using a second communication bus, the conversion device comprising:

• a peripheral interface for coupling the conversion device to the one or more peripheral devices;
• a memory for storing information about the one or more peripheral devices;
• a controller, coupled to the peripheral interface, the memory and a serial bus interface, wherein the controller includes:
• logic that detects each peripheral device coupled to the peripheral interface,
• logic that determines a type of each detected peripheral device and stores the determined type in the memory,
• logic that determines a protocol for communicating with each detected peripheral device and stores the determined protocol in the memory, and
• logic that sends the stored information through the serial bus interface to the at least one processor, in response to a request from the at least one processor.