Systems and methods for interfacing legacy equipment to high-speed data buses employing embedded bus controllers

A system for interfacing a legacy bus with a wideband data bus, the system comprising:

• a legacy bus interface in communication with the legacy bus;
• a PHY layer module in communication with the wideband bus;
• a LINK layer module in communication with the PHY layer module;
• and
• a processing module configured to provide a bridge between the legacy bus interface and the LINK layer module via an input/output subsystem, wherein the processing module is operable to receive legacy data from the legacy bus via the legacy bus controller module, to request a timeslot on the wideband bus for at least a portion of the legacy data via the LINK module, and to transmit the legacy data on the wideband bus using the timeslot;
• and wherein the processing module comprises a bus controller module configured to control traffic on the legacy bus via the legacy bus interface.

A method of interfacing a MIL-STD 1553 data bus to an IEEE 1394 data bus with a legacy interface comprising a bus controller module and a remote interface unit, the method comprising the steps of:

• receiving a message for a MIL-STD 1553 device on the MIL-STD 1553 bus via the IEEE 1394 data bus;
• converting the message data to at least one data word in a legacy format at the remote interface unit;
• controlling traffic on the MIL-STD 1553 bus with the bus controller module to transfer the at least one data word between the remote interface unit and a MIL-STD 1553 device on the MIL-STD 1553 data bus;
• and
• repeating the controlling step until all of the MIL-STD 1553 data is transmitted on the MIL-STD 1553 data bus.

A system for interfacing a legacy data bus and a wideband data bus, the system comprising:

• means for controlling data traffic on the legacy bus;
• means for receiving legacy data at the legacy interface from a legacy component on the legacy bus, wherein the means for receiving is configured to communicate with the means for controlling;
• means for converting between a legacy format and a wideband format in communication with the receiving means;
• and
• means for communicating with the wideband data bus in communication with the converting means.

A data processing system providing an interface between a legacy bus and a wideband bus, the system comprising:

• a legacy input/output module in communication with the legacy bus, the legacy input/output module comprising a bus controller module configured to control data traffic on the legacy bus;
• a PHY layer module in communication with the wideband bus;
• a LINK layer module in communication with the PHY layer module;
• and
• a processing module configured to communicate with the legacy I/O module and the LINK layer module via an input/output subsystem, wherein the processing module is operable to receive legacy data, to convert the legacy data between legacy and wideband formats, and to transmit the legacy data in the legacy and wideband formats on the legacy and wideband buses, respectively, to thereby provide a bridge between the legacy bus and the wideband bus.